Market Infrastructure and Payments Department

The Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo (CBK) has as its primary objective the preservation and maintenance of a stable financial system, including a safe, stable and efficient payment system. This objective is related to the duties and responsibilities of the Payment Systems Department. The Payment Systems Department is responsible for the operation of interbank payment systems owned by the CBK and for supervision and analysis in the field of payment systems in general.

The primary objective of the CBK is defined in Article 7 of the Law on the CBK, while the relevant duties are summarized in Article 8. Such duties to which the Payment Systems Department contributes include promoting and supervising secure, stable and efficient payment, clearing and securities settlement systems, collecting and publishing relevant financial information; informing the Assembly, the Government and the general public about the activity of the CBK; cooperating and participating in relevant international councils and organizations; and defining policies for promoting and maintaining the stability of the financial system. In particular, the payments system operational and supervisory duties related to the Payment Systems Department are specified in Articles 21 and 22. The field of payment systems is also specifically sanctioned by the Law on the Payment System.

The work of the Payment Systems Department is divided into two separate divisions:

Systems Operation Division
Analysis and Oversight of Payment Systems Division

The Payment Systems Department has the following main functions:

- Administering and controlling clearing operations and interbank settlements for payment and securities transactions;
- Ensuring the integrity of transactions and user access;
- Monitoring and administering the mandatory reserve of the participating banks; liquidity monitoring in the banking system;
- Coordinating and developing the operation of payment schemes;
- Analysing and supporting the possibilities of creating new payment schemes and interoperability of existing ones;
- Providing technical support at the application and database level;
- Analysing and reporting payment and securities transaction data; reporting on a daily basis on the details of government revenue payments;
- Managing the operational, financial and account settlement risks;
- Managing payment systems development projects; monitoring the developments of practices in the field of payment systems, in particular those in the European Union;
- Ensuring commitment to development of infrastructure and payment services; initiating and supporting the expansion of the range of payment instruments;
- Participating in drafting policies and regulatory instruments related to the field of payment systems; drafting procedures for oversight of payment systems;
- Ensuring that payment systems operate securely and effectively and that payment systems and instruments are governed by an adequate legal framework;
- Analysing the state and developments of payment systems; identifying and monitoring relevant potential risks; assessing compliance with international principles;
- Participating in the evaluation of requests for licensing of operators of payment systems and requests for authorization of financial institutions for the provision of payment services.

The Analysis and Oversight of Payment Systems Division also reports to the Deputy Governor for Banking Operations.

Personnel

This department currently has 10 people engaged, including the Head of the Department.