European Commission welcomes Moldova's accession to Single Euro Payments Area

The European Commission has welcomed the official accession of 40 banks from Moldova, Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) schemes – a step considered historic for the economic integration of these states with the European Union.

According to a press release by the European Commission, the new stage will allow euro payments and transfers between these countries and EU member states to be faster, safer and cheaper, generating estimated savings of up to 500 million euros for citizens and businesses. For small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the measure will significantly simplify international transactions and cross-border trade.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos has said that this decision showed the tangible benefits of the European integration process:

“Today, we celebrate the tangible results which our ongoing efforts for gradual integration of candidate countries bring to their citizens and businesses. Our work does not stop here. We will continue to strive for the full operationalization of SEPA schemes for our candidate countries, bringing their citizens and businesses even closer to the European Union.”

The accession to SEPA was decided by the European Payments Council after the four countries had been included in the geographical area of the system: Albania and Montenegro in November 2024 and North Macedonia and Moldova in March 2025.

According to the European Commission, this achievement specifies the goals of the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans and the Growth Plan for Moldova, which aim to accelerate the social and economic integration of these regions into the European Union, through gradual approximation to the single market and community standards.