The Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) has asked commercial banks to make instant payments the default option in mobile and internet banking no later than 15 November 2026, the central bank said. The requirement concerns domestic transfers, where fees for instant payments of up to 200 euros through those channels are capped at five cents. Customers would see the lower-cost service as the starting option instead of having to find it in their banking application.
Two banks have already made instant payments the default in their applications. In some banks, however, the instant option is not displayed first, so a customer unaware that it is available may make a more expensive standard electronic payment instead. Andrija Jovović, director of the CBCG’s Payment Systems Sector, said users would not have to look separately for a cheaper option, because faster and cheaper payments would be readily available.
The five-cent limit applies to domestic instant payments of up to 200 euros made through mobile or internet banking. It also covers the receipt of an instant payment up to that amount. A customer making an instant transfer of 100 or 200 euros should therefore pay no more than five cents, while the tariff for a standard electronic transfer may differ.
The potential difference is illustrated by a standard electronic payment order that may cost 42 cents, compared with a maximum of five cents for the same transaction as an instant payment. The CBCG has said it went beyond the European rule, which requires that an instant-payment fee cannot exceed the charge for the corresponding standard credit transfer, by setting a specific cap for domestic payments of up to 200 euros through digital banking.
Under Montenegro’s Law on Payment Transactions, banks must make information about all charges available before a customer confirms a transaction. That information is intended to let customers know the cost in advance, including where the price of an instant transfer differs from the standard electronic option. The national fee limit applies to domestic instant payments in Montenegro.
Jovović said the aim was for instant payments to be not only faster but also more affordable and accessible to households and businesses. The CBCG has put in place infrastructure and regulatory conditions for faster, lower-cost payments, and introduced the fee limit as part of that framework. The requested default setting is intended to make the instant option easier for customers to use when choosing how to transfer money.
The central bank expects banks to keep improving the customer experience so households and businesses can make fuller use of the payment system. Jovović said the CBCG wants instant payments to become a routine way of transferring money in everyday life, rather than an additional feature in a banking application. Banks have until the November 2026 deadline to make the option the default.
