Key facts
- Location/region: Southeastern Europe, Western Balkans. Borders Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Greece.
- Population: 2.7 million (2024)
- Urbanisation: 65% (2024)
- GDP per capita: USD10,012 (2024)
- Currency: Albanian Lek (USD1 = 80-85 ALL)
- Cash usage % and trend: Albania remains heavily cash-oriented. A 2018 Bank of Albania study found some 96% of payments by number are cash. Recent Bank of Albania payments statistics suggest this may have reduced by approx. 10% through to 2024
- ATMs:
- Number: 1,011 (2024)
- ATMs per 1,000 people: 0.37
- Average withdrawal: 17,500 ALL (USD210)
- Trend: Relatively stable since 2010 – overall average growth of 2.2% per year over the 15 year period, though from 2020-2024 growth has averaged 7.5% per year. Around 35-40% of ATMs accept deposits
- Number of bank branches: 390 in 2023, down from 429 in 2019 and over 500 prior to 2016
Roles in the cash system
- Regulators
- Bank of Albania (BoA): Issues currency, manages circulation, operates cash centres, supervises banks and regulates payments. In October 2024, the BoA adopted Regulation 48/2024 setting minimum security requirements for conducting financial activities with cash. The BoA has been actively driving adoption of digital payment infrastructure (SEPA accession, instant payments, open banking)
- Ministry of Interior: Licenses and oversees private security firms (Law 75/2014), including CIT operations
- Commercial Banks
- Major banks: National Commercial Bank (‘BKT’, 25%), Credins Bank (16%), Raiffeisen Bank Albania (15%), Intesa Sanpaolo Albania (10%) and OTP Bank Albania (9%)
- Role: Hold cash inventories in branches and ATMs, contract CIT companies, replenish ATMs, and serve retail/business cash demand
- CIT Operators
- Licensed under Ministry of Interior rules. A number of domestic players participate in the market. No foreign/international CIT operators identified
- ATM Deployers
- All ATMs are deployed by commercial banks
How cash distribution works
- Bank of Albania: Produces/distributes banknotes and coins, holds and manages reserves at cash centres
- Commercial banks: Source notes from BoA; distributes and returns notes through ATM and branch networks
- CITs: Move cash between BoA, bank branches, ATMs, retail clients, and Albanian Post
- ATM network: Owned/operated by banks, stocked and maintained via CIT
Notably, Albania historically exported excess foreign currency (esp. euro) via air transport to Vienna.
The state of play of cash and payments
- High reliance on cash, especially outside Tirana and secondary cities
- Cash perceived as cost-free and convenient, while digital payments are viewed with caution due to trust and fee concerns
- Card and mobile wallet adoption is growing, but cash remains dominant for small-value, everyday transactions
- Large portion of the population is unbanked or under-banked, which supports ongoing usage of cash
Recent events
- 2019 Rinas Airport armed robbery: €6–10m stolen from a CIT van loading aircraft; triggered major regulatory and security reforms
- BoA Regulation 48/2024: Minimum security standards for cash handling and transport introduced
Our observation
While politicians and regulators are making gestures toward reducing cash and growing digital payments, Albania continues to be a cash-heavy market. Cash is still the default medium for daily commerce. Any shift towards digital payments is less about displacing cash and more about containing costs and risks while supporting the perceived financial participation of the population.
The most notable dynamics are:
- Regulatory tightening: Driven by BoA and Ministry of Interior in response to security gaps
- Localised CIT sector: Dominated by domestic providers with no visible international multinationals, suggesting a closed market
- Infrastructure rationalisation: Growing ATM estate and reducing branch network, reflecting a move toward self-service and lower cost distribution channels
- Consumer inertia: Despite policy goals, cash persists strongly in Albanian daily life. There is potential for an inflection point in the future, but there are not strong indicators of this being soon