The Central Bank of Montenegro has revoked Alta Pay group’s authorisation to provide payment services in the country, making payments through the group no longer possible. The central bank’s Council took the decision as part of measures it said were intended to complete transactions already in progress and protect users.
Alta Pay had enabled customers to pay bills, fees to the Ministry of the Interior and the cadastre, and tuition, as well as send money through Western Union. Businesses could also use the service to deposit their daily takings. The status of payments made before the suspension is uncertain.
Consumer protection expert Jovo Rabrenović said customers and businesses had no reason to worry if Alta Pay had transferred their money to the intended recipients. He said there was hope that payments made by individuals and companies on Friday had been recorded through the fast-clearing system and had reached recipients’ accounts.
However, the payment arrangements remain unclear: it is not known what contracts Alta Pay held with service distributors in Montenegro or whether it acted only as an intermediary. Nor has it been established what happened to payments after Alta Bank in Serbia was placed into bankruptcy.
Rabrenović warned that Alta Pay’s operations in Montenegro may have stopped functioning properly after the Serbian system collapsed. In that case, money paid towards obligations may not have moved beyond the system in which it was deposited or reached the final recipients.
He advised customers and businesses to check whether their payments arrived at their destination and then contact the Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Sector for information. Rabrenović said previous experience suggested such cases had not ended well for individuals or legal entities: funds could be lost, recovery could take a long time and repayment might not be possible.
Alta Bank, based in Serbia, lost its operating licence after midnight on 31 October because of its poor financial condition. Its owner, Davor Macura, was detained in the morning after a search lasting several hours.
Alta Bank also lost its licence in North Macedonia. There, cash withdrawals were limited to 160 euros a week after 2 million euros was rapidly withdrawn from accounts.
