The service of receiving money through a PayPal account is not yet available to Montenegrin citizens, although this world-famous online payment service has been present in Montenegro since June 2014.
Montenegro is only enabled to pay via PayPal, a globally accepted and one of the most secure systems for sending and receiving money via the Internet.
PayPal said their ambition is for everyone to eventually have access to their services for digital payments and commerce, in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.
"Although we have nothing to announce in Montenegro in the near future, we are continuously working on the development of strategic partnerships, addressing business opportunities, regulatory and compliant needs and requirements," PayPal's head of communications for Northern and Central Europe, Galina Skatkina, told "Vijesta".
Due to the impossibility of receiving money through PayPal, the citizens of Montenegro have less chance to earn money on the Internet. Also, that service would make it easier to send money from abroad to Montenegro, and commissions would be lower. For investors, the possibility of receiving money via PayPal would open the door to the global market.
Communication with PayPal representatives from Montenegro was led by the Ministry of Information Society and Telecommunications. After the abolition of that ministry at the end of 2016, its responsibilities were divided into the Ministry of Economy (telecommunications) and the Ministry of Public Administration (information society).
The Ministry of Public Administration told "Vijesta" that Pay Pal is a private company, profit-oriented and has its own business rules.
"The practice of this company is to enable only the "send" function in the first period of using the service, i.e. to enable payment. We expect in the future that this functionality will be extended to the "receive" function, i.e. to enable Montenegrin companies and citizens to use this service to pay for their goods and services, which certainly depends on the company itself," said the Ministry.
Montenegro expected that PayPal would provide this service in 2014, when it also provided Serbia, but that did not happen, as the reason given was problematic legal regulations. There is also speculation that the reason for the European Commission's assessment is that money laundering in Montenegro causes "serious concern".
Businessmen could be competitive
Until now, Montenegrin businessmen have repeatedly pointed out that the service of receiving money through PayPal would enable them to export and be competitive on foreign markets, and it would also save time. Montenegro and Macedonia are the only ones in the region that do not have a complete PayPal service.
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