The National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia will host the Ninth Conference on Payment and Securities Settlement Systems from 5 to 8 June 2016 in Ohrid, which is traditionally held in cooperation with the central banks of the Netherlands and Portugal.

The opening remarks at the Conference will be given by the Vice-Governor of the National Bank, Ms. Maja Kadievska Vojnovic, in charge of the Sector of Financial Market Operations and Payment Systems.

The Conference will have an international character, attended by representatives of the European Central Bank, the central banks of Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, Kosovo, Moldova, Morocco, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia, Montenegro, the Czech Republic, the financial institution Commerzbank, as well as by representatives of commercial banks, regulators of financial market infrastructure and other financial and non-financial institutions in the Republic of Macedonia.

At the Conference, special attention will be paid to the process of harmonization of the Macedonian legislation in the area of payment systems and payment services with the respective EU regulation. Eminent EU experts, representatives of the domestic banking sector and representatives of other local payment services providers will develop an interactive discussion and address the new draft package of Macedonian legislation in the field of payments. The new legislation is expected to contribute toward encouraging competition by allowing entry of non-bank institutions at the market, strengthening the rights of payment services users for obtaining clearer and timely information, lower payment services prices for payment beneficiaries, as well as establishing legal basis for faster integration of Macedonia in the EU and inclusion in the Single Euro Payments Area.

In addition, the Conference will cover topics in which lecturers will address the current development of the legal framework for regulating payments at European level, with a special focus on the new revised Directive on payment services, strategic vision 2020 of the Eurosystem, the latest innovations within the Single Euro Payments Area, the sophisticated payment solutions in the e-trading and digital communications era. The Conference will cover the issues pertaining to the development of payment security, compliance with the regulation, financial inclusion, the channels for distribution of cash payments and the payments of the treasury system.

By organizing the Conference, the National Bank continuously contributes to the strengthening of its capacity and the capacity of other participants to respond to the latest challenges in the field of payments arising from technological development, innovations and changes in the regulatory framework both at the European level and worldwide.

Governor's Office

Program