A two-day workshop was held on EU Payments Acquis and SEPA 3/12/2024 Tweet On 11 and 12 March 2024, the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the World Bank organized a workshop entitled "EU Payment Acquis and SEPA" in Sarajevo. Along with the organizers and representatives of the European Commission, the workshop was attended by representatives of Entities' Ministries of Finance, Entities' Banking Agencies, commercial banks, and the Association of Banks of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The workshop presented the experiences of the public and private sectors, as well as the practical application of the EU Acquis in the area of payment services, with an emphasis on the EU Directive on payment services 2 (PSD2). The central part of the workshop related to the process of joining the Single euro payment area (SEPA), with an analysis of the current state of the legislation compliance in Bosnia and Herzegovina with SEPA requirements. The role of instant payments in the process of modernization of the payment infrastructure in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as, the prerequisites for achieving interoperability with EU payment infrastructures, were also addressed. The attendees noted that the benefits of joining SEPA and building the necessary infrastructure, with interoperability with EU payment infrastructures, among other things, are measurable in the form of a reduction in fees for cross-border payments, better connections with the diaspora, reduction of informal money flows, attraction of foreign investments, and potential growth of capital markets. The workshop was held as part of the project to modernize the payment systems of the Western Balkans, funded by the European Commission and implemented by the World Bank.
