I would like to highlight the initiative undertaken in cooperation with the World Bank, and funded by the SECO, for the implementation of Project Greenback 2.0 in Berat. This project consists in enhancing financial inclusion and financial education for emigrants and their families, who receive these funds, as well as in establishing effective channels in terms of costs for the delivery of these funds. In addition, to expand the market knowledge regarding remittances, in June, the Bank of Albania published “Remittances: A support for development". This publication is entirely dedicated to remittances and adopts a comprehensive approach to various aspects in the domestic market. Some of these aspects are the macro-level analysis of remittances and their impact on development in general and on the receiving families; the analysis of the infrastructure of the remittances market in Albania, and the need for intervention, as well as providing adequate statistics on remittances. An important step in the framework of financial education was also undertaken by the Albanian Association of Banks. In June, a memorandum of cooperation was signed on establishing the Albanian Network for Financial Education and fostering inter-institutional cooperation and coordination in the field of financial education. However, there is still much to be done, despite the developments I mentioned earlier. In this context, I would like to invite you all to continue with the efforts made so far, with the same intensity, in order to modernize the domestic payment market.
In the medium term, the Bank of Albania will focus its efforts on a number of initiatives, notably on further legal developments and infrastructure improvements. An important step in the medium term is the drafting of the bill “On the payment account". The bill will transpose the European Union Directive “On the Payments Account” and promote transparency by creating a public register to present all commissions applied by institutions, which can be easily compared. At the same time, during this period, the Bank of Albania will engage in a number of infrastructure developments that support financial inclusion, reduce the costs of using these instruments and is estimated to have an impact on the remittance market, mainly from the point of view of remittance receivers and their use. Here we can mention the creation of a national platform for processing payments in real time (instant payment and processing of card payments). The platform creates conditions for the development of innovative and low-cost services and also aims at market segments that create ample volumes by targeting state institution payments as well as daily payments that Albanian citizens make. Last but not least, I would like to thank the Government of Albania for the importance it places on this matter and its continuous support. In particular, I would like to thank the ministries such as the Ministry of Diaspora and the Ministry of Finance and Economy for their support and fruitful cooperation.