Fintech & digital payments rules in Serbia (2026)

The National Bank of Serbia is the sole licensing and supervisory authority for payment and e-money services under the Law on Payment Services, which has applied since 1 October 2015 and was amended in 2024 with effect from 6 May 2025.

Two licence types exist: payment institutions (may provide payment services) and electronic-money institutions (may additionally issue e-money and offer all PI services). Both must be licensed by the NBS and may act through authorised agents only within the scope of their licence.

Minimum initial capital ranges from EUR 20,000 (money remittance only) to EUR 125,000 for other payment services for a PI, and EUR 350,000 for an EMI e-money licence; the NBS must decide on an application within three months of a complete filing.

The NBS owns, regulates and operates the IPS NBS instant-payment system, a 24/7/365 credit-transfer service settling within seconds that all licensed banks must offer, with a per-transaction limit of RSD 300,000.

The 2024 amendments introduced account-information and payment-initiation services; banks and EMIs must provide secure APIs to licensed third-party providers with customer consent. The NBS published regulatory technical standards and extended the compliance/transition deadline to 1 January 2026.

There is no dedicated BNPL statute; a provider originating its own loans must hold a bank, PI or EMI licence. New consumer rules — the Protection of Financial Services Users Law (effective 1 July 2025) and amended Law on Banks (effective 1 Oct 2025) — cap interest and require pre-contract disclosure and a 14-day withdrawal right.