Moldova joined the Single Euro Payments Area

Moldova became a full member of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) on October 6.

This was reported by the press service of the National Bank of Moldova.

Eight Moldovan commercial banks have already received SEPA participant status.

The Single Euro Payments Area is a European Union initiative to integrate payments to simplify bank transfers denominated in euros.

It currently has 41 members: 27 European Union member states, four European Free Trade Association member states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), the United Kingdom, five candidate countries for EU membership and four microstates that have currency agreements with the EU (Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City).

As explained by the National Bank of Moldova, if previously an international transfer could cost from €20 to €200, now it will be processed according to the same standards and tariffs as in the European Union — for just a few euros or even free.

Thanks to the countryʼs integration into SEPA, Moldovan exporters will be able to save about €20 million per year.

• The National Bank of Ukraine began negotiations on joining SEPA back in July 2022.
• In April of this year, the government approved a bill on Ukraineʼs fulfillment of EU requirements for joining SEPA. The Ministry of Finance explained that Ukraineʼs accession to SEPA will allow citizens and businesses to make transfers in euros between European countries extremely quickly, without additional fees, and according to clearly established rules.

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