More than ten years after Montenegro became part of the PayPal online payment system, citizens have not been able to use all the benefits of that service, and it is uncertain whether or when that will happen. It is still unclear whether the negotiations are being "hindered" by the state or PayPal.
The Regional Cooperation Council, which took over negotiations with PayPal from the Ministry of Public Administration (MPA), says that they officially approached PayPal on behalf of the Western Balkans at least three months ago, but there has been no response yet.
"We are still waiting for their statement," they told "Vijesti" on Monday.
After being announced for years, the PayPal service became available to users in Montenegro in 2014, at a time when the then Ministry of Information Society and Telecommunications was running Vujica Lazović. It was then possible for users from Montenegro to pay for services on the Internet from their PayPal accounts. Although this has been announced several times, it has not yet been possible to receive money on PayPal accounts.
The departments responsible for this have also changed over the years. After the 2016 parliamentary elections, the Ministry of Information Society and Telecommunications was closed down and part of its activities were taken over by the Ministry of Public Administration (MPA).
"Given the importance of this activity, both for the citizens and the economy of Montenegro, the Ministry will make maximum efforts in the coming period to establish a two-way service within the PayPal system, about which the Montenegrin public will be informed in a timely manner," the ministry said in 2017.
As for who depends on whether users in Montenegro will receive the full PayPal service, there have been different communications over the years. PayPal previously claimed that the two-way service is hindered by regulations in Montenegro, while Montenegrin institutions denied this, stating that the service depends only on PayPal.
Even today it is not clear who it is:
"According to payment experts from Montenegro who are involved in the process, Montenegro has met the prerequisites, however, PayPal is the one who needs to confirm this," the Regional Cooperation Council told "Vijesti" a few days ago.
They are also vague in their response to the question of whether there is a chance that Montenegro will be part of PayPal in the sense that users can also receive money:
"There is certainly a possibility that in the future, users in Montenegro will start receiving money via PayPal. This is how the process began with others, and over time, full functionality of two-way payments was enabled. At the moment, however, it is not clear when this could happen, as we are still awaiting a statement from PayPal," the Council stated in its response to "Vijesti".
They also add that international payment platforms, such as PayPal, are of great importance for facilitating trade and accessing global markets.
"Without the ability to receive payments, businesspeople, freelancers and entrepreneurs face obstacles in cooperating with foreign clients and expanding their client portfolio, which limits their competitiveness in the global economy. Access to these platforms is very important for encouraging economic inclusion and integration. Therefore, the initiative to contact PayPal on behalf of the entire region, because Montenegro is not alone in this, was taken so that everyone in the region would have the same benefits, and by acting together, we would increase the chances of this happening as soon as possible," the Regional Cooperation Council said.
"Vijesti" also sent questions about Montenegro's further inclusion in the PayPal system to that company - on December 30rd, then on December XNUMXth of last year.
Among other things, they were asked whether the company was ready to enable users in Montenegro to receive money to their PayPal accounts, what prerequisites the state must provide in order to enable all PayPal services to its citizens, as well as whether they had communicated with the Government of Montenegro on this topic, and whether and when they had received an inquiry from any institution requesting that users in Montenegro, in addition to making payments, be enabled to receive money to PayPal accounts.
PayPal, however, did not respond.
PayPal was founded in 1999 and now serves more than 200 markets worldwide. Users sign up for PayPal with a valid email address and then link a valid bank card to their account. Sending and receiving money is done in real time, through a simple form that includes the recipient's username and the amount they want to pay.
The Council is trying to provide an alternative
As the expansion of the PayPal service set has been uncertain for years, the public administration department has previously announced several times that it will initiate the introduction of other similar services.
The department headed by Maraš Dukaj referred the editorial staff to the Council for Regional Cooperation regarding this, as well as all other questions on this topic.
The Council, as they stated in their response, "for specific MPA plans, it is best to contact them directly."
They added, however, that, within the framework of the new Action Plan for a Common Regional Market, the Council "committed to working to enable the existence of additional payment services in the region."
"Potentially including PayPal, but not limited to it," they told "Vijesti".
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