The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH) announced that it has launched the country's first domestic instant payment system, enabling transfers to be completed within seconds around the clock and marking the biggest upgrade to the country's payment infrastructure in the past 25 years.

The system is available to all commercial banks, with Intesa Sanpaolo Banka BiH, Raiffeisen Bank BiH and Sparkasse Bank BiH becoming the first participants after completing the required technical adjustments and testing. Together, the three lenders account for around one-quarter of the assets of Bosnia and Herzegovina's banking sector.

Customers of participating banks can now execute payment transactions within seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including weekends and public holidays. Additional banks are expected to join as they complete their technical preparations.

The CBBH said the system would improve the availability of funds for households, accelerate cash flows for businesses and provide banks with a modern platform for developing new digital financial services. The central bank also noted that its transaction processing fee for instant payments is lower than the fee applied under the existing giro clearing system.

"By establishing and putting into operation the domestic instant payment system, Bosnia and Herzegovina gets a modern payment infrastructure that is in line with European standards and ready for the future development of digital financial services," CBBH Governor Jasmina Selimović said.

The platform is based on the European instant payment model, adapted for the Western Balkans by the Bank of Italy with the consent of the European Central Bank. The project was implemented with support from the European Commission and the Delegation of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"The launch of the domestic system for instant payments represents an important step towards the single digital market of the European Union," Head of the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina Luigi Soreca said. He noted that the EU had provided €2mn to support the development of the TIPS Clone project and finance its first year of operation.

The CBBH plans to expand the system with additional services, including QR code payments and, at a later stage, cross-border payment capabilities. Banks that have not yet completed the necessary technical and operational adjustments are expected to join the platform gradually.