Petar Chobanov notes that in recent years there has been a “quite positive development” in the field of payments and in the settlement of securities.
Sofia, Bulgaria19 Oct. 2023, 00:25 16624 read 7 comments
The preparation for the introduction of the euro in the country plays the role of a catalyst for accelerating the processes of renewal and development of the payment and settlement systems in Bulgaria. This is stated by the deputy governor of the BNB, head of the “Banking” department, Petar Chobanov, in the publication “Development and innovations in the payment and securities settlement sector” in the quarterly newsletter of the Association of Banks in Bulgaria from October.
Chobanov notes that in recent years there has been a “fairly positive development” in the sphere of payments and in the settlement of securities.
He adds that this development is methodical and targeted, driven by technological innovations in payments and changing consumer needs, and by the evolution of regulatory requirements and standards.
Projects
This year, the BNB, the banks, “BORIKA” AD and “Central Depository” AD can boast of a good team result – a number of achievements in terms of projects related to the preparation for the country’s entry into the Eurozone, Chobanov points out.
First of all, he notes the migration to the new consolidated platform for TARGET services of the Eurosystem, which the BNB implemented in March this year together with the banking community in our country, “BORIKA” AD and “Central Depository” AD.
He points out that the new consolidated TARGET platform has become a stable basis of the financial market infrastructure of the Eurozone and gives access to several services at the same time.
Payments
Chobanov also points to the project for the migration of budget payments to the standards of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), finalized at the beginning of October, and adds that this project is essential for the preparation for the introduction of the euro in the country.
It was implemented jointly by “BORIKA” AD, BNB and the Ministry of Finance, and work on it began in the spring of 2022, Chobanov recalls. The main goal is the application of the SEPA standards regarding the implementation and processing of budget payments in BGN in the country, which ultimately led to the overall optimization and acceleration of the budget banking service process.
Thus, we can consider that the migration of all categories of customer credit transfers in BGN to SEPA standards has already been successfully completed, bearing in mind the project implemented at the beginning of last year for the migration of non-budget customer credit transfers in BGN to the standards of the Single Payment Area in euros, Petar Chobanov points out.
He adds that, as a result, customer credit transfers in BGN can now be executed significantly faster, and the limit on the amount of transfers processed through the BISERA6 payment system, in accordance with SEPA requirements, is also removed.
Lions
Petar Chobanov also notes the development of instant credit transfers in BGN, which started almost two years ago. Today, we already report that through the Blink service of “BORIKA” AD, more than 90 percent of customer payment accounts in the country are accessible for immediate payments in BGN, which are executed within 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
On this basis, a number of innovations are expected to be implemented in the future, according to the needs of customers, such as P2P transfers by mobile number and payments with merchants, writes Chobanov.
The deputy governor of the BNB also notes the projects finalized in September this year for joining the Depository of Government Securities at the BNB and “Central Depository” JSC to the securities settlement platform TARGET2-Securities.
The migration of Bulgarian depositories to T2S is the culmination of the joint work between the BNB, Central Depository AD and the Eurosystem, which began as early as 2021. Currently, depositories from 23 European countries use T2S, and participation in the platform already contributes to the better accessibility of Bulgarian securities for EU investors, notes Petar Chobanov.
The project to join the BISERA7-EUR payment system operated by “BORIKA” AD to the Eurosystem’s service for the settlement of instant transfers in euros TIPS has also registered serious progress, which will provide an opportunity for banks in the country to offer instant transfers in euros, Chobanov also points out.
Upgrade
The TIPS accession project can be seen as an upgrade to immediate payments in BGN. This project will ensure infrastructure readiness in the context of the expected changes to the SEPA Regulation 260/2012, according to which payment service providers that perform customer credit transfers in euro will have to be able to perform instant credit transfers in euro as well, notes Chobanov.
The BNB and “BORIKA” AD continue to work effectively to ensure full accessibility for the execution of customer SEPA credit transfers in euros in the Single Euro Payments Area, as this is one of the main highlights of mutual cooperation, writes Petar Chobanov.
He notes that in the coming months full reachability will be ensured when executing credit transfers in euro to more than 4,800 payment service providers in all countries of the SEPA area, applying a prepaid model with continuous settlement, which will also reduce time for making credit transfers in euros.
In other words, we will be able to state that, in terms of credit transfers, we will effectively enter the Eurozone earlier than the indicative date of January 1, 2025, Petar Chobanov points out.
Inspired
Without a doubt, today’s development of the payment market in our country and in Europe is driven and inspired by new technologies and supported by European regulations, which create a favorable environment for competition and innovation for the benefit of consumers, especially through the evolution of digital solutions.
The measures related to the introduction of the euro support the rapid and effective integration of the financial and market infrastructures in our country with those in the eurozone, notes Petar Chobanov. He points out that in technical terms we are already taking into account the favorable impact of the projects for the development of the payment and settlement infrastructure in the country on the optimization of the payment process and the improvement of banking conditions in our country.
Chobanov expresses hope that, as a result of the efforts made, all other projects related to the adoption of the euro in Bulgaria will be successfully finalized next year.
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2023-10-19 01:51:06
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