iute Albania at Balkonnect 2026: the future of digital payments

On May 22, iute Albania was part of the Balkonnect event, an event dedicated to business development in the Balkan region and beyond. In the panel titled “Fintech & Open Banking in SEE”, iute was represented by Jonida Çela, CEO of iutePay, who shared her experience and perspective on the evolution of digital finance. This roundtable discussion brought together several industry experts who discussed the future of digital payments and the transformation that this ecosystem is undergoing in the Balkan region.

The discussion focused on some of the most important developments that are shaping the financial industry today: there was extensive discussion about the concept of open banking, technological developments in the financial industry, the evolution of digital payments, the modernization of payment infrastructure, operational sustainability and the future of integrated financial services, etc. The importance of strategic collaborations between financial institutions and, above all, the adaptation of digital financial products to customer demands and needs was also highlighted.

During the panel, the transformation of the Albanian market over the last two decades was also discussed: from a predominantly cash-based ecosystem, towards an increasingly digitalized and innovation-oriented environment, supported by the modernization of the regulator, the growth of electronic payments, the development of digital wallets and the growing participation of fintech companies.

An important conclusion from the discussion was that the future of open banking in Albania and the South East European region will largely depend on the interaction between market actors, common standards, infrastructure built on universal APIs and reliable cooperation across the ecosystem. Avoiding fragmentation and building trust in customers will be key elements for the sustainable development of digital financial services.

An important part of the discussion also focused on the operational reality behind the payments infrastructure, where Çela commented: “It should be emphasized that successful fintech ecosystems are not built only on technology, but also on strong operational processes, secure infrastructure, standardization, accurate reconciliation capacities and close cooperation between regulators, banks, EMIs and fintech companies.

“Thanks to the organizers, to the participants, to the other panelists and for the valuable discussions and exchange of ideas on the future of fintech and digital finance in our region.” – said Jonida Çela at the end of Balkonnect 2026.