SEPA is operating in Serbia: what has changed for business payments

According to the National Bank of Serbia, banks began processing SEPA Credit Transfer transactions on 4–5 May 2026. Both servicing banks must participate in SCT for a transfer to be made. The standard timeframe is one working day after the bank receives a correct payment instruction; the cut-off time affects when that period begins. The specific bank sets the fee. Serbian foreign-exchange rules and document requirements continue to apply. Details are published in the official NBS answers.

This is not a promise that every international payment is now free or instant. SCT and the instant SCT Inst scheme are different products. Ask your bank whether the required channel is available for the particular account and transaction.

Our planning conclusion is that it is sensible to review established payment arrangements now, especially if the company regularly makes similar euro payments. The comparison should be based on your actual transaction flow. A banking package suitable for one large monthly payment may be less appropriate for dozens of small receipts.

Take a statement for a typical month and group the transactions: services, goods, receipts from clients and refunds. Note the number and average amount for each group. This list makes it easier to request a specific calculation from the bank and compare it with current costs than asking a general question such as “Is your SEPA cheap?”

1. Will this particular payment go through SCT? Provide the currency, country, recipient bank and nature of the transaction.
2. What fee applies under our tariff? Ask the bank to distinguish sending, receiving and account maintenance.
3. When must the instruction be sent? Clarify the cut-off time and processing on weekends and public holidays.
4. Which documents should be attached? Agree on a clear document set for your transaction before an urgent payment arises.
5. What will the counterparty receive? Find out where to obtain confirmation and how to track the status or a return.

Keep the answers in a short working procedure for the director and accountant. This is especially useful when one person prepares payments and another signs them. Everyone should share the same understanding of when a transaction is ready to send.

We recommend maintaining a counterparty record with its full name, address, bank details and a contact for verifying changes. Compare new details with the contract and confirm them through a known communication channel. This check is also necessary for a long-standing partner if an unexpected email announces a different account.

For accounting purposes, connect the payment to the underlying business transaction in advance. The counterparty's name, amount, currency and description in the documents should form a clear account. If paying an advance, settling several documents or making a refund, prepare the explanation before sending. This is our organisational recommendation; the specific document requirements are determined for the transaction itself.

Consider a DOO that pays monthly for a European software service and receives money from two corporate clients. It is useful to check the outgoing payment and incoming receipts separately. Do not automatically apply the terms for one direction to the other. Create two budget lines and compare the actual charges after the first billing period.

Do not change the bank, payment details in every contract and accounting procedures all at once because of a single news item. First assess the available terms and the operational costs of switching. In some situations, correctly configuring the existing account and payment templates is enough. After checking, document the chosen payment procedure and communicate it to employees who prepare and approve the company's payments.

RICS Consulting will help organise your company's operations in Serbia: coordinate documents with the accountant, prepare for bank questions and build international payments into a clear process. Contact us for accounting support if you want to review payments for your DOO or sole trader business. We will start with the transactions your business actually needs.

• National Bank of Serbia: SEPA questions and answers · 18 May 2026