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| A person looking at the credit card code to write the numbers online on the laptop for the purpose of online purchase (archive) |
The use of banking channels for payments by Albanians is continuing to increase this year.
According to information from the Bank of Albania, during the first 6 months, individuals and businesses made approximately 18.7 million payments through banking channels, marking a 17.6% increase compared to the same period last year, state media reports.
Meanwhile, the total value of transactions reached 2.9 trillion Albanian lekë, showing a 7.5% increase compared to the first 6 months of 2022.
The smaller growth in payment value compared to the increase in the number of transactions is also linked to the strengthening of the Albanian lek's exchange rate, which has reduced the statistical value of transfers conducted in foreign currencies.
In terms of the number of transactions, card payments continue to hold the dominant share in Albanian banking operations, accounting for approximately 61% of the total. Card transactions are still mostly driven by cash withdrawals from ATMs, but card payments at POS terminals have been rapidly increasing in recent years.
The second-largest group within banking transactions consists of credit transfers initiated by customers. These include payments initiated by customers at bank branches or through remote banking channels, primarily internet banking.
The most significant development this year is that now bank transfers are primarily dominated by electronic channels. Around 56% of the total number of these transfers were conducted electronically, without paper involvement.
According to the latest estimates from the Bank of Albania, the number of adults owning a bank account has reached 66% of the total population. This indicates a substantial increase in the use of banking services in recent years.
Bank of Albania data shows that the total number of bank accounts in the country was around 3.11 million at the beginning of this year, with a 2% increase compared to the previous year. Throughout 2022, the number of active accounts in the banking sector expanded by approximately 61,000. The number of individual resident accounts reached around 2.82 million, showing a yearly increase of 1.5%.
The number of bank accounts in Albania reached its highest point in 2016, with nearly 3.5 million. In the period from 2016 to 2020, their numbers experienced continuous decline, significantly influenced by the consolidation of the banking sector and the overall decrease in the number of banks.
Despite the relatively high number of bank accounts in Albania compared to the overall population, this does not necessarily provide an accurate picture of the penetration of bank accounts within the population.
While many Albanians have multiple bank accounts, a significant portion of the adult population still does not possess one. To address this issue, the Bank of Albania has drafted legislation for basic payment accounts, which has already been submitted for approval in the Albanian Parliament.
The draft legislation stipulates that basic payment accounts with reasonable or no fees will be offered to consumers and resident individuals in the Republic of Albania by all commercial banks, provided that they do not already have an existing bank account.
According to the draft legislation, a reasonable fee will be considered one that does not exceed 50% of the average fee level charged by the entity for the same services offered through a regular payment account.
However, banks will be obliged to provide zero-fee payment services for categories falling under the group of consumers who benefit from the rights provided by legislation regulating social assistance in the Republic of Albania.