Governor Mehmeti hosted the Swiss Ambassador to Kosovo, Jean-Hubert Lebet

The purpose of the meeting was to advance the mutual cooperation in implementing joint projects as well as to inform the Ambassador about the developments at the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo and the strategic development priorities. On this occasion, Governor Mehmeti thanked the Swiss state for supporting some projects through the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), starting from the program that contributes to increasing access to finance and financial inclusion through increased use of transaction accounts and electronic payment instruments, thus improving the efficiency of retail payments in the country and of the international remittances.

“This program will help a lot in providing cheaper and easily accessible payment services to the Diaspora and their families, as well as to the general population of Kosovo. Payment services under certain circumstances may facilitate access to other financial services, thus advancing financial inclusion, and are often of critical importance to the efficient delivery of these services”, said Governor Mehmeti.

On the other hand, the Ambassador of Switzerland to Kosovo, Jean-Hubert Lebet, expressed his satisfaction for Switzerland’s contribution to the advancement of CBK’s work, pointing out that this cooperation will continue.

In the framework of the program, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has assisted the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo in revising laws and regulations, including the legal framework and regulations for providing electronic money services in Kosovo.

Also, the CBK is relying, through the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), on updating the Vision and Strategy of the National Payments System, the provision of the financial education program to the senders and recipients of remittances, including encouraging the transfer of remittances to a bank account or a payment account. In addition to this, a study is being conducted on the cost of retail payments in Kosovo (based on the WBG methodology “A Practical Guide for Measuring Retail Payment Costs”).