Montenegro’s full integration into the European payment system demonstrates that the EU enlargement process can deliver tangible benefits through results and discipline, providing citizens and businesses with concrete advantages long before formal EU accession.
Earlier this month, Montenegro quietly reshaped its relationship with Europe. By sending and receiving its first transactions within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), the country has fully joined the European payment infrastructure. What began as a technical reform has become a symbol of efficiency and inclusion, enabling faster, cheaper, and more reliable transfers for individuals and businesses.
For years, EU enlargement has faced criticism for being slow, abstract, and disconnected from everyday life. Montenegro’s SEPA milestone shows that reform can yield immediate, tangible benefits: lower costs for companies, faster payments for families, and deeper economic integration with Europe.
Montenegro adopted the Deutsche Mark in the 1990s to restore stability following regional conflicts and hyperinflation. When the euro replaced the mark in 2002, Montenegro followed suit, but for over two decades, payments were conducted through fragmented, costly channels. That chapter is now closed.
The broader lesson is clear. Debates about enlargement often get lost in geopolitics or fears of institutional complexity. SEPA demonstrates an alternative path—a gradual, measurable integration process that citizens experience from the outset.
Previously, sending and receiving euros abroad from Montenegro cost an average of €73.40 per transaction. Under SEPA, a transfer up to €200 costs less than two cents, while transactions up to €20,000 are capped at €1.99. Families benefit from affordable remittances, small businesses enjoy simpler cross-border trade, and Europe gains a more connected, efficient, and inclusive payment area.
Montenegro’s achievement crowns years of disciplined reforms. In 2024, it became the first EU candidate country to meet SEPA requirements. The Central Bank worked tirelessly with all eleven commercial banks to align systems, rules, and standards with European payment infrastructure.
SEPA is more than a technical system. It is the backbone of a single European market, handling over 45 billion transactions annually, enabling trade, investment, and mobility. It connects 41 countries and nearly 540 million people, showing that the euro is not just a currency—it is a pillar of trust, economic strength, and international influence.
Joining SEPA is not only about cheaper transfers; it is about belonging to the core infrastructure of the European economy. For Montenegrin exporters or digital service providers, EU client payments that once took days and involved high fees can now be processed within hours at minimal cost. Students studying abroad can pay tuition as easily as domestic fees, and efficient payments enhance competitiveness and growth for small businesses.
Montenegro’s participation has both practical and symbolic significance: it demonstrates compliance with high standards and readiness to contribute to Europe’s financial architecture. It marks a shift from fragmentation to fairness, showing that enlargement can advance through measurable results rather than declarations.
For Europe, extending these systems to candidate countries is both inclusive and strategic. It strengthens the euro’s international role, enhances financial stability, and supports the EU’s New Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, turning alignment into accession and reforms into tangible benefits.
As stablecoins and major tech platforms expand their influence, control over payment systems becomes a key aspect of European strategic autonomy. By deepening SEPA and expanding instant payment platforms like TIPS, the EU consolidates its ability to set global standards based on transparency, interoperability, and trust.
Montenegro’s integration is therefore integral, not peripheral. It is part of Europe’s effort to extend its financial infrastructure to accession economies, strengthen the euro’s credibility, and ensure that innovation serves both citizens and financial stability.
Following Montenegro’s first SEPA transactions, Albania, North Macedonia, and Moldova also joined, expanding the common European payment area to EU candidate countries. Once all candidate countries are integrated, an additional 60 million people will share the same European payment framework. This strengthens the single European market, turning standards into trust, cost reductions into competitiveness, and integration into measurable progress.
The broader lesson is clear: enlargement debates often get lost in geopolitics or fears of institutional hurdles. SEPA shows an alternative path—a gradual, measurable integration process that citizens feel from the start. It is also a concrete pillar of the EU’s New Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, translating alignment into accession and reforms into tangible benefits.
