How people pay in the Western Balkans in 2026
The Western Balkans covers Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo. The region uses four national currencies: the Serbian dinar, the convertible mark, the denar and the lek, while Montenegro and Kosovo use the euro. Each country has its own central bank, its own banks and its own rules, so a merchant rarely sells to the whole region with one local contract.
The payment rails are converging with the EU. Serbia became the fifth enlargement partner to join the SEPA schemes, after Albania, Moldova, Montenegro and North Macedonia, and on July 20, 2026, the TIPS Clone instant payment platform went live in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia already runs one of Europe's busiest domestic instant systems, IPS NBS, with QR payments in stores and online. Cards keep growing fast, but cash on delivery is still a reflex for many online shoppers.
- 109.3 million instant payments processed by IPS NBS in Serbia in 2025, up 25.4% (National Bank of Serbia)
- 13.3 million payment cards issued in Serbia at the end of 2025 (National Bank of Serbia)
- 110.6 million online card and e-money purchases in Serbia in 2025, up 34.3% (National Bank of Serbia)
- 18 Serbian banks joined the SEPA schemes on May 5, 2026 (European Commission)
Payment by card in the Western Balkans
Cards are the main cashless tool in stores across the region. Serbia, the largest market, counted 13.3 million payment cards at the end of 2025, up 9% in a year. Domestic cards made 745.7 million payments at merchants in 2025, up 18.6%, and the number of POS terminals rose 14.8% to 184,656. Online card and e-money purchases grew even faster, by 34.3%.
Serbia also has its own scheme. DinaCard, run by the National Bank of Serbia, has processed domestic payments since 2003, works abroad through Discover and UnionPay partnerships, and gained contactless in 2024. In North Macedonia, the processor CaSys settles payments made with domestic card brands on the ATM and POS networks of its member banks. Elsewhere, Visa and Mastercard debit cards dominate. Kosovo saw POS transactions rise 33% in one year in 2025.
For cross-border merchants, local acquiring and dinar, denar, mark or lek pricing improve approval rates. Our guide to how card networks work explains who does what, and interchange fees drive much of the cost.
Card schemes in the Western Balkans
DinaCard
Domestic card scheme
Serbia's national card scheme, owned by the National Bank of Serbia. DinaCard cards have worked for online payments since 2018 and can be co-branded with UnionPay or accepted abroad through Discover.
Visa
International card scheme
Visa debit and credit cards are issued by the main banking groups in all six markets and accepted by every local acquirer, in store and online.
Mastercard
International card scheme
The other main scheme on regional debit and credit cards. In Serbia it also offers Mastercard Installments so issuers can add installment plans to existing cards.
Domestic cards in North Macedonia
Domestic card network
Domestic card brands in North Macedonia are switched and settled by CaSys, which manages the ATM and POS network of its member banks under the oversight of the National Bank.
Contactless cards
Card form factor
Tap-to-pay is the norm at Serbian tills. Payment provider Monri wrote in May 2025, citing National Bank of Serbia data, that contactless payments exceed 90% of in-store transactions; the NBS does not publish this share in its own releases.
184,656 POS terminals in Serbia at the end of 2025, National Bank of Serbia
Payment by cash in the Western Balkans
Cash is still common in small shops, markets and rural areas across the region, and none of the six central banks publishes a recent cash share of payments. The trend is clear in the card data, though. In Serbia, the number of card payments at merchants grew 18.6% in 2025, and Kosovo recorded 33% more POS transactions in a year.
Online, cash shows up as cash on delivery. Belgrade e-commerce agency Cubes describes COD as the dominant online payment method in Serbia in 2025, chosen mainly for trust. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 2025 national survey of the local eCommerce Association found that 46.4% of online shoppers paid on delivery, against 43.1% by card. The National Bank of Serbia counted 34.2 million online purchases in the second quarter of 2026, but its figures leave out parcels paid on delivery, so real online spending is larger. For merchants, COD means higher return and refusal rates and slower cash collection through couriers. Offering instant QR payment or card on delivery is the usual way to move shoppers off cash.
Cash payment methods in the Western Balkans
Cash on delivery
Cash on delivery
The shopper pays the courier in cash when the parcel arrives, and the courier remits the money to the store. It remains the dominant choice of Serbian online shoppers and is widely offered across the region.
46.4% of online shoppers in Bosnia and Herzegovina paid on delivery in 2025, eCommerce Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina via Ecommerce Europe
Cash at the point of sale
Banknotes and coins
Dinars, marks, denars, lek and euros are accepted in nearly every store and remain usual for small amounts, in open markets and among older shoppers.
Payment by bank transfer in the Western Balkans
Serbia leads the region on instant payments. Its IPS NBS system processed 109.3 million payments in 2025, up 25.4%, and set a daily record of 611,415 payments on October 15, 2026. Shoppers pay at the till or online by scanning or showing a QR code in their mobile banking app, and settlement takes about one second.
The rest of the region is catching up. On July 20, 2026, the TIPS Clone platform built by Banca d'Italia went live in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia are due to join in November 2026. In Montenegro, all 11 banks offer instant payments, at no more than 0.05 euros for transfers up to 200 euros.
Euro transfers are getting cheaper too. Serbia's 18 banks joined the SEPA schemes on May 5, 2026, which the European Commission says could save up to 400 million euros. Kosovo has filed a pre-application and is waiting for its new payment laws to take effect. Read more on account-to-account payments and how an instant payment works.
Bank transfer methods in the Western Balkans
IPS NBS instant payments
Instant payment rail
Serbia's 24/7 instant payment system, run by the National Bank of Serbia since 2018. It powers account transfers, QR bill payments and the IPS QR methods at merchants.
11.8 million payments processed in September 2026, IPS NBS
IPS Skeniraj online
QR pay by bank
At an online checkout, the shopper selects IPS Skeniraj (IPS Scan), scans the QR code on screen with the bank app and confirms, without typing card details. The NBS describes one-click mobile payments as the next step.
TIPS Clone instant payments
Instant payment rail
Regional instant payment platform based on the Eurosystem's TIPS. It went live in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina in July 2026, with Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia scheduled to join in November 2026.
11 banks offering instant payments in Montenegro at launch in July 2026, Central Bank of Montenegro
SEPA Credit Transfer
Euro bank transfer
Banks in Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia can now send and receive euro transfers under SEPA rules. Montenegro and Albania were approved in November 2024.
18 Serbian banks joined the SEPA schemes on May 5, 2026, European Commission
Bank transfer on invoice
Bank transfer
Paying a pro forma invoice by domestic transfer from the bank app is still common for larger orders and B2B purchases, now often with a payment QR code on the invoice.
Payment by installment and BNPL in the Western Balkans
Installments in the region mostly run through bank cards, not standalone BNPL apps. Banks let cardholders split a purchase into monthly payments at partner merchants, a model known locally as kupovina na rate. Mastercard now offers Mastercard Installments in Serbia so issuers can add pay-later plans to debit and credit cards, online and in store.
Regulation explains the slow arrival of fintech lenders. In Serbia, only banks could historically grant credit. Payment institutions may lend only when the loan is tied to a payment, for up to twelve months, and with one euro of capital for each euro lent. Cross-border BNPL offers face foreign exchange rules too. Non-bank offers are starting to appear: in Albania, BALFIN Group's fintech Happy lists buy now, pay later credit next to its wallet and payment processing. For merchants, card installments are the safest way to offer installment payments: the bank carries the credit risk and the store is paid in full. Learn more about buy now, pay later.
Installment and BNPL providers in the Western Balkans
Bank card installments
Card installments
Banks in all six markets let cardholders pay in monthly installments, often interest-free, at partner stores and webshops. The plan is set up on the card, so the merchant is paid like a normal card sale.
Mastercard Installments
Card BNPL
Mastercard's installment layer lets Serbian issuers offer split payments on existing cards, during or after a purchase, for domestic, cross-border, online and in-store transactions.
Happy
Wallet with BNPL
Albanian fintech of the BALFIN Group, founded in 2020 and licensed in Albania, offering a mobile wallet, e-money, POS solutions and buy now, pay later credit for consumers and businesses.
Payment by digital wallet and X-Pay in the Western Balkans
Apple Pay now covers the whole region. Apple lists Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia among its supported countries. NLB Group completed its rollout in July 2025, when all its banks in Southeast Europe offered Apple Pay. In Kosovo, Google Pay and Apple Pay passed 66,000 users within four months of their 2025 launch.
The mobile banking app is the other wallet. Serbia had 5.1 million m-banking users at the end of 2025, and m-banking transactions grew 25.7% in the year. Inside these apps, IPS Pokaži (IPS Show) and IPS Skeniraj (IPS Scan) turn the phone into a QR payment tool at the till. For merchants, device wallets run on card rails and card rules, while IPS QR settles account to account in about a second. Learn more about X-Pay and the Apple Pay integration challenges.
Digital wallets and X-Pay in the Western Balkans
Apple Pay
Device wallet
Available in all six markets with cards from the main banking groups, for contactless payments in store and one-tap checkout online.
Google Pay
Device wallet
The Android wallet, offered by banks in the region and by local gateways. Kosovo launched it in 2025 together with Apple Pay.
66,000 Apple Pay and Google Pay users in Kosovo within four months of launch in 2025, Central Bank of Kosovo
IPS Pokaži and IPS Skeniraj
Bank app QR
QR payment functions in Serbian mobile banking apps. With IPS Pokaži the shopper shows a QR code to the merchant, and with IPS Skeniraj the shopper scans the merchant's code, as explained by the NBS.
Mobile banking apps
Bank wallet
Bank apps are the everyday payment hub in Serbia, used for transfers, QR bill payments and IPS QR at stores.
5.1 million m-banking users in Serbia at the end of 2025, National Bank of Serbia
Payments in the Western Balkans: FAQ
What is the most common way to pay online in the Western Balkans?
Cards and cash on delivery. In Serbia, online card and e-money purchases reached 110.6 million in 2025, up 34.3%, but COD is still widely chosen for trust reasons. Merchants usually offer Visa, Mastercard, DinaCard in Serbia, Apple Pay and COD side by side.
What are IPS Skeniraj and IPS Pokaži?
They are QR payment methods on Serbia's IPS NBS instant payment system. The shopper scans or shows a QR code in the bank app and the money moves in about a second. IPS processed a record 611,415 payments on October 15, 2026.
Do the Western Balkans use SEPA?
Mostly yes. Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia have joined the SEPA schemes, with 18 Serbian banks joining on May 5, 2026. Kosovo has filed a pre-application, and Bosnia and Herzegovina is not yet a member.
Are Apple Pay and Google Pay available in the region?
Apple Pay is supported in all six markets. Google Pay is offered by banks in several countries, and in Kosovo the two wallets passed 66,000 users within four months of their 2025 launch.
Accept local payments in the Western Balkans with NORBr
In the Western Balkans, banks such as Banca Intesa, NLB, Raiffeisen and OTP hold acquiring contracts, while gateways such as Monri, Nestpay and CaSys cPay connect webshops. Check DinaCard and IPS QR in Serbia, TIPS Clone readiness and multi-currency settlement.
With NORBr, you can connect any acquirer, PSP or local provider that offers cards such as DinaCard, cash on delivery and instant payments such as IPS in Serbia. Some are already in our connector catalog; Mapper™ gets the others live in days, and Smart Checkout shows each shopper the right methods. Explore the other #PayWorldTour guides.
Local payment providers in the Western Balkans
Monri
Payment gateway
Regional gateway and member of the Payten group, serving merchants in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia. It offers cards, IPS payments, Apple Pay and Google Pay with tokenization and one-click checkout.
Covers: Cards, IPS QR, Apple Pay, Google Pay, card installments
Payten (ASEE)
Payment processor
The payments business of Asseco South Eastern Europe, active across the Western Balkans. Its Nestpay gateway and POS processing are used by many banks in the region to serve their merchants.
Covers: Cards, DinaCard
Banca Intesa Beograd
Acquirer
Serbian bank of the Intesa Sanpaolo group and one of the country's largest card acquirers. It acquires card payments for physical and online merchants and offers installment plans on its cards.
Covers: Cards, DinaCard, IPS QR, card installments
NLB Group
Acquirer
Slovenian banking group with banks in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo. It brought Apple Pay to all its regional banks by July 2025 and acquires card payments in each market.
Covers: Cards, Apple Pay, instant transfers
CaSys
Payment processor
North Macedonia's card processor and the operator of cPay, a widely used online payment gateway that webshops connect to through partner banks such as UNI Bank, Stopanska Banka and Komercijalna Banka.
Covers: Cards, domestic cards, cPay
