Central bank reported that the national Euro payment system (AIPS Euro) recorded more than 206,000 Euro-denominated transfers during the first eight months of 2024.

Number of Euro transfers rose 34% year-on-year, with the transfers value estimated at around 3.3 billion euros, with an annual increase of 32%.

Establishment of a national system for Euro-denominated transfers has had positive impact as it has significantly reduced the cost of these transfers.

The commission fee on any transfer must not be higher than 50 euros, regardless of the amount.

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Central bank said that the national Euro payment system (AIPS Euro) recorded more than 249,000 Euro-denominated transfers in 2023.

Number of Euro transfers rose 66% year-on-year, with the transfers value estimated at around 3.3 billion euros, with an annual increase of 22%.

Although the Lek-denominated inter-bank transfers dominate the total of small amount payments, growth rate of these transfers was lower last year.

The number of transactions for small value payments in Albanian currency (AECH) rose 12% compared to the previous year, while the number of transactions in the large value payment system in Lek (AIPS) slightly decreased by 0.9% compared to 2022.

In terms of value, the volume of transactions in the AECH system increased by a little more than 5%, while in the AIPS system in Lek the value of transactions also slightly decreased by 1.5%.

The AIPS Euro payment system started operating in January 2022, with the aim of reducing the costs of bank transfers in the euro currency. Before the establishment of this system, national transfers in euros could only be made through the use of accounts that Albanian banks had with correspondent banks abroad.

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