Albania Joins SEPA: What It Means for Your Bank Transfers in 2025

Albania is one of the recent countries to have joined SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area).

While transferring money to or from Albania used to come with varying fees, depending on the amount of transferred money, now the process has just gotten simpler and more efficient.

What Is SEPA?

SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) is a European initiative that makes euro transfers within participating countries as simple as domestic ones.

In other words, sending money from Tirana to Paris will now cost and take about the same as sending it from Tirana to Durrës.

The system aims to make payments faster, safer, and more transparent, reducing costs for both citizens and businesses.

Who Can Benefit?

According to the Bank of Albania, 11 commercial banks operating in the country will now provide SEPA services. This means that both individuals and companies can benefit from the new system.

For expats and remote workers, this is particularly good news. Transferring funds from an EU-based account to an Albanian one — or receiving payments for freelance work — will now be simpler, faster, and cheaper.

For businesses, it means easier trade and cooperation with European partners, lower transaction fees, and better integration into the European financial market.

The Main Advantages

To summarise it, according to the Bank of Albania, here’s what to expect:

• 5 times lower fees for transferring money from Albania to SEPA member countries
• Electronic payments are now faster and more convenient
• A payment from Tirana to another European city costs no more than a payment within Tirana itself
  

The same rules apply for sending and receiving banks across 41 European countries.

A Step Forward for Albania’s Financial System

Joining SEPA is not just about easier bank transfers — it’s part of Albania’s broader effort to align with European Union financial standards.

The Bank of Albania has called it a “significant milestone” that will boost investor confidence, support economic growth, and make the country more attractive to international businesses and foreign residents.

It also reinforces Albania’s commitment to digitalization and financial transparency, areas where the country has made steady progress in recent years.