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26/05/2025

Today, the CBCG launched a new generation of the national payment system - RTS/X. This marks the most significant functional and technological change in the domestic payment system since it was established in 2005.

This launch is a step in the new phase of the comprehensive modernisation of Montenegro’s payment system, aiming to align it with European practices and provide faster, safer, and more accessible payment options for all users, including citizens, businesses, and institutions.

The new system introduced online clearing, i.e., a service that allows interbank transactions, i.e., payments and withdrawals of up to 1,000 euros, to be processed throughout the day without waiting for the previous fixed clearing cycles, enabling users to have funds available almost instantly.

With the newly implemented online clearing feature, the transaction cannot be reversed once the money is sent. This enhances the predictability and reliability of the payment system.

For citizens, this means that when they receive a payment of up to 1,000 euros, the funds will arrive in their account within seconds or minutes, depending on their bank’s processing time.

For the economy, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, online clearing enables earlier access to funds based on smaller transactions, improving daily management of liabilities and liquidity. For example, a business that receives a payment confirmation from a customer can immediately pay a supplier or start a new delivery, contributing to more efficient operations and a faster capital turnover cycle.

The system is fully compliant with the recently introduced international standard ISO 20022, which enables more precise and structured information in each payment transaction, automatic processing of orders without manual intervention, better compliance with regulations, greater protection against errors and abuses, the possibility of automatically connecting transactions with invoices and improving bookkeeping.

Implementing the ISO 20022 standard also brings additional benefits - the new message format enables the exchange of more precise and structured information about transactions, easier connection of payment transactions with accounting systems and higher automation in business processes. This standard is already used by the most important payment systems in the European Union, including the TARGET and SEPA infrastructures.

The next phase, until the end of 2025, is planned to expand the system’s operational capacities, including extending working hours and enabling the processing of orders during non-working days and weekends, further enhancing the flexibility and availability of payment services.

In parallel with implementing the RTS/X system, the CBCG is actively working on establishing a system for instant payments - TIPS Clone, which is being developed in cooperation with the central banks of the region and the Banca d’Italia and will be launched in July 2026. Unlike the DNS system, in which settlement is performed in pre-defined daily cycles, TIPS Clone enables the execution of interbank payments within just a few seconds.

The TIPS Clone system will serve as a regional platform that supports instant payments in real-time, 24/7/365, in the Western Balkans countries, and which is technically and functionally identical to the TIPS platform of the European Central Bank, thereby further strengthening interoperability with the European market.

Modernising the payment system is a key component of the digital transition of the Montenegrin economy and improving competitiveness. In the coming period, the CBCG will continue to work with other institutions, banks, and international partners to build a modern, reliable, and EU-aligned financial system that serves the citizens and economy of Montenegro.