Brussels – Serbian citizens are getting a step closer to EU integration, at least when it comes to some economic benefits that EU citizens tend to take for granted. After Belgrade entered SEPA’s geographical scope in 2025, 18 banks have officially joined the Single Euro Payments Area schemes.
As announced by the European Commission, the decision taken by the European Payments Council – the organisation representing the European banking industry in managing and standardising payment schemes – will make euro transactions between these Serbian banks and the European Union “more reliable, faster, and cheaper.”
In particular, individuals and businesses could potentially save “up to €400 million,” while also simplifying international transactions and facilitating more cross-border trade for small and medium-sized enterprises. “This development highlights how gradual integration can deliver concrete benefits to our partners and their citizens well ahead of EU accession,” the European Commission stressed.
Serbia is the fifth EU candidate country to join the SEPA schemes in practice, after Albania, Moldova, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.
Among the critical difficulties that currently risk undermining Belgrade’s EU accession path, cooperation on gradual access to certain areas of the EU single market – in line with EU standards and regulations – has not stopped, as shown by Brussels’ strong push for the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, which makes the disbursement of EU funds conditional on EU-related reforms.
These are the 18 banks in Serbia that are included in the SEPA Credit Transfer scheme: 3 Bank, Adriatic Bank, AIK Banka, ALTA banka, API Bank, Banca Intesa, Bank of China Srbija, Banka Poštanska štedionica, Erste Bank, Halkbank, Mirabank, NLB Komercijalna banka, OTP banka Srbija, ProCredit Bank, Raiffeisen banka, Srpska banka, UniCredit Bank Srbija, Yettel Bank.
What is the SEPA area
The Single Euro Payments Area is a payment integration initiative of the European Union, launched in 2008 to simplify bank transfers in euros across participating countries. It includes EU member states that use the euro as their currency, as well as those that do not – namely Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden.
The SEPA area currently comprises 41 participants: the 27 EU member states, the four members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland – four European microstates – Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City – one former EU member – the United Kingdom – and, since 2025, five EU candidate countries – Albania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
This pan-European system allows individuals and businesses to make cross-border payments as easily as domestic ones, reducing costs and administrative complexity. It primarily covers standard bank transfers, while other methods – such as mobile phone or smart card payment systems – are not directly included. The Single Euro Payments Area is composed of different schemes, including credit transfers, instant transfers and direct debits.
SEPA Credit Transfer enables standard euro payments between bank accounts, usually completed within one working day. SEPA Instant Credit Transfer allows near-instant payments, typically processed within seconds at any time of day. SEPA Direct Debit enables organisations to collect payments automatically from a payer’s account and is commonly used for bills and subscriptions.
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