total transaction, significantly exceeding the global sustainable development goal target of 3 percent. by meeting this target, the economies could save approximately half a billion euros according to world bank calculations. " 5 furthermore, sepa membership will accelerate the digital transformation of our financial sector. by reducing reliance on cash transactions and promoting digital payment methods, it will support the development of a more modern, secure, resilient and inclusive financial ecosystem. recognizing the benefits of joining sepa, countries in the region have invested tremendous amount of time and resources, while being extensively supported by all stakeholders within the western balkans payments modernization project, especially the world bank. these efforts brought us all either already into sepa, or very close to a positive decision on joining it. related to this, let me elaborate more on our position. we submitted our application for sepa membership on 10th of july last year. this historic step was the culmination of years of dedicated work, legislative overhaul, inter - institutional collaboration, and support from international and european organizations. completion of the formal assessment of our application and our readiness to join sepa by the european payments council is expected soon. this will confirm our compliance with 2 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches the european legal and regulatory requirements in critical areas, including payment services, anti - money laundering measures, free movement of capital, and data protection. these foundational elements ensure that our country is well prepared to meet sepa's technical and legal requirements. having said that, an effective accession will be possible only if domestic payment service providers prepare their systems to meet sepa's technical and operational requirements. therefore, while the benefits of sepa accession are clear, we must also acknowledge the challenges that lie ahead. compliance with sepa's regulatory and operational requirements demands investment in infrastructure, staff training, and system upgrades. the banking sector is expected to work diligently to ensure full readiness for integration with sepa payment systems by october 2025, determined as sepa first possible entrance date for payment service providers from the western balkan countries being sepa members. of course, the successful implementation of sepa adherence will require close cooperation between regulators, financial institutions, and all other relevant stakeholders. the national bank is committed to facilitating this transition. we will continue to provide guidance, technical support, and regulatory oversight to ensure a smooth and efficient integration process. additionally, we will work closely with the international partners that are genuinely committed to address any challenges. the strong commitment and support has recently

anita angelovska bezhoska : national fintech strategy to be developed opening remarks by ms anita angelovska bezhoska, governor of the national bank of the republic of north macedonia, at the nbrm workshop on fintech, skopje, 6 december 2019. * * * dear mr. jay tikam, representatives of the financial sector regulators, ministries dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to open this fintech event organized as part of our ongoing efforts to encourage fintech debate among regulators, supervisors, relevant ministries and other stakeholders. as many times before, the european fund for southeast europe, has again proved its long - standing support for delivering workshops in a number of central bank areas, for which we are sincerely thankful. the main idea of this workshop is to raise awareness among decision makers and other stakeholders on the importance of the new fintech solutions and at the same time to lay ground for its development in our country, starting by identifying relevant goals and activities to be envisaged in our forthcoming national fintech strategy. over the last couple of years, the development of financial technology and its penetration in a wide spectrum of financial services has gained momentum. a variety of fintech solutions are being offered, which can be broadly clustered in three groups : a ) financial services, as business that offer internet based applications for instance for managing personal finance, trading securities, automating financial services ( robotization ) ; b ) financing, via platforms that directly match investors and lenders, such as crowdfunding, or peer to peer lending ; c ) payments, via more innovative and customer tailored payment solutions. no doubts we have that fintech offers wide - ranging opportunities. it holds the promise of reducing costs and frictions, narrowing information asymmetry, enhancing efficiency and competition, and increasingly important, broadening access to wider set of financial services – especially in low - income countries and for underserved part of the population – although it may take time for the benefits of technological change to fully materialize. against this background, ongoing innovations and technological advances can support stronger growth dynamics and higher inclusiveness of the growth, thus speeding up the real convergence process through a number of channels. for small economies, such as ours, fintech innovations can play important role in facilitating trade integration. more convenient and cheaper instruments for digital payments can set basis for easier cross - border trade, including e - commerce that currently plays a marginal role in the region. and there