Payment trends and developments in the Western Balkan countries: An interview with Aleksandar Birovljev

The Western Balkan region — comprising Albania and five former Yugoslav republics — represents an emerging market for payments. Current cashless payments volumes are low and there is significant potential for the development of electronic payments. Although the six different economic and administrative areas have different potential for growth, there are many similarities between these markets, as well as a historic interconnection between their economies and business. Once businesses start to grow beyond their national borders, their expansion into neighbouring countries will be facilitated by the similar language and the interconnectivity of these markets. Cash is still king in the Western Balkans. However, the number of non-cash transactions is slowly growing. A major challenge for online payments in the Western Balkan countries relates to the high costs for processing transactions — card assessment fees are up to four times higher than in the EU. Central banks have announced plans to align domestic policies with EU regulations, such as the Interchange Regulation and PDS2, which could lead to market liberalisation and lower transaction costs.