(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 17. The European Commission has welcomed 40 banks from Albania, Moldova, Montenegro and North Macedonia have officially joined the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) schemes, Trend reports.

This historic development is set to make euro transactions between these four partners and the European Union more reliable, faster, and cheaper, potentially saving up to 500 million euros for individuals and businesses. For small and medium-sized enterprises, it will also simplify international transactions and enhance cross-border trade.

Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos said:“Today, we celebrate the tangible results that our ongoing efforts to gradually integrate candidate countries bring to their people and businesses. Our work does not stop here. We will continue to strive for the full operationalisation of SEPA schemes for our candidate countries, bringing their citizens and businesses even closer to the European Union”.

This decision was made by the European Payments Council after the four countries entered SEPA's geographical scope - Albania and Montenegro in November 2024, and North Macedonia and Moldova in March 2025.

This is a practical example of the impact of the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans and the Growth Plan for Moldova, by aligning national rules with EU rules. These EU initiatives aim to accelerate the socio-economic integration of these regions into the European Union, including by providing gradual access to certain areas of the EU single market, in line with EU standards and regulations.

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