Moldova may become a member of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) in the first quarter of 2025 or by this summer - NBM
This was announced by Anca Dragu, Governor of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM), in an interview with Bloomberg. She noted that Moldova is getting closer to becoming a member of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). According to Anca Dragu, this should happen in the first quarter of this year or, at the latest, by summer. The head of the National Bank emphasized that Moldovans will save at least 20 million euros a year due to cheaper transactions. As InfoMarket reported earlier, Governor of the National Bank of Moldova signed the application for Moldova's accession to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) on January 30, 2024. According to Anca Dragu, Moldova's accession to SEPA will lead to the provision of cashless euro payments to and from the European area, offering Moldovan citizens safer, faster and more convenient payments at lower prices. “One of the benefits of Moldova's participation in SEPA will be the cost of payments. They will not only be fast, transparent, reliable, but also at a sustainable price. With this system, a payment can be made within about 24 hours and instead of paying 20, 30, 50 euros per transaction, we will be paying 1, 2, 3 euros. This means a huge step for everyone involved in the economic system. Both companies and individuals can make payments. Joining SEPA will be good news for Moldovan citizens who live and work abroad and transfer money to their relatives in the country,” Anca Dragu said. According to her, SEPA is a payment system that ensures the efficiency of payments, standardization of processes, transparency of processes, which is important for the credibility of transactions, facilitates cross-border transactions and stimulates trade, as a fast, reliable payment at a low price allows boosting trade relations. “Last but not least, it is a decisive step towards the consolidation of the single market, and for Moldova it is a commitment to be part of the single European market,” the NBM head emphasized. The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is a single area in which the differences between domestic and international payments in euros are completely eliminated. The aim of the project is to improve the efficiency of interstate payments and unite national markets of different countries into a single home market. SEPA will allow users to make non-cash payments in euros to any other user located anywhere in the zone, using a single bank account and a single set of payment instruments. Additional savings are achieved due to the obligation of banks to credit SEPA payments in full to the beneficiary's account and without any fees. Payments are executed not later than 1 business day after they are processed. The project includes the creation of common financial instruments, standards, procedures and infrastructure to support the economy on the scale of all participating countries. // 20.01.2025 – InfoMarket
