The Council of the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) today approved several draft laws and made several decisions aimed at harmonizing them with European standards and strengthening the efficiency of the payment system, the CBCG announced.
It is stated that the Council of the Central Bank of Montenegro today adopted a Decision on amending the Decision on determining the tariff according to which fees for services provided by the Central Bank of Montenegro are calculated.
"With this decision, which applies from December 1, the fees charged by the Central Bank of Montenegro to banks for services in the RTGS and DNS payment systems have been reduced by 50 percent," the statement said.
It is added that for the execution of orders worth up to one thousand euros, the fee will be 0,05 euros, instead of the previous 0,10 euros.
"And for the execution of orders worth over a thousand euros, the fee will be 0,75 euros, instead of the previous 1,50 euros," the statement said.
The Central Bank of Montenegro said that this creates the preconditions for banks to proportionally transfer the reduction in payment transaction fees to end users - citizens and businesses, and for the effects of this measure to be fully realized for the benefit of payment service users.
"This change represents an important step in preparing for the implementation of the national instant payment system (TIPS clone), which is being developed based on the technical standards of the Eurosystem, in cooperation with the Central Bank of Italy and the European Central Bank, and which will be available to citizens from the end of July next year," the CBCG said.
As they said, although the reduction in fees will negatively affect the revenues of the Central Bank of Montenegro, this measure was assessed as justified, taking into account the broader goals - increasing the efficiency, accessibility and competitiveness of the national payment system, as well as the expected positive effects of lower costs for citizens and the economy.
The Central Bank of Montenegro announced that the Council, with the aim of full harmonisation with relevant European Union regulations, today adopted the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on the Resolution of Credit Institutions.
"The key goal of the proposed changes is to further improve the resolution process and adapt it to modern European standards," said the Central Bank of Montenegro.
The financial institution explained that the main novelty relates to the introduction of a clear regulatory treatment for entities for which the recovery plan provides exclusively for bankruptcy, not recovery.
As stated in the statement, the Council, in order to increase legal certainty, transparency and efficiency of the implementation of internal resolution, also adopted the Decision on amendments to the Decision on the detailed content of resolution plans for credit institutions and group resolution plans.
"This act prescribes the obligation to develop a special manual that will contain a detailed description of procedures, internal rules and steps for implementing internal resolution instruments, with a precise distribution of competencies and responsibilities within the credit institution, a clear communication plan with relevant entities and other elements necessary for the lawful and timely implementation of resolution measures," the statement says.
It is added that the Council, with the aim of full harmonisation with relevant EU regulations, has also adopted the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on the Comparability of Fees Related to Consumer Payment Accounts, Switching Consumer Payment Accounts and Payment Accounts with Basic Services.
"The proposed amendments expand the scope of credit institutions that are required to open and maintain payment accounts with basic services," the Central Bank of Montenegro said.
As they pointed out, this obligation is being introduced for all credit institutions headquartered in Montenegro, thus encouraging wider use of accounts with basic services that include a number of benefits (free opening, maintaining and closing accounts, free cash deposits and withdrawals at the counter and ATM, as well as ten free national payment transactions per month).
The Central Bank of Montenegro said that the range of consumers who are entitled to open accounts with basic services is also expanding.
"In addition to the current categories (beneficiaries of the minimum wage, material security, personal disability allowance, care and assistance allowance and unemployment insurance benefits), this right will also be exercised by beneficiaries of the lowest pensions, temporary benefits from the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund and child allowance," the statement said.
The Central Bank of Montenegro announced that the Council also adopted a Decision amending the decision on the appointment of the president and members of the Advisory Board, appointing Marko Škreb, former Governor of the Croatian National Bank, as a member of that body.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
