The Office for Kosovo in the government of Serbia announced on Monday that the Post Office Bank of Serbia has opened four improvised bank branches near the border crossings with Kosovo, where, according to them, Kosovo Serbs can withdraw their earnings from the Serbian state.
According to a statement, the Post Office Bank of Serbia has set up improvised branches in the Serbian part of the border crossings, Jarinje, Bërnjak, Končulj, and Merdare.
The Office for Kosovo in the government of Serbia said that this action was taken to facilitate the withdrawal of payments from the Serbian budget for Kosovo Serbs, which they receive in dinars.
This comes after the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) enforced a regulation on February 1, which stipulates that the euro is the sole currency for payment transactions in Kosovo.
Based on it, the Kosovo Customs prohibited the entry of dinars from Serbia into Kosovo twice last month, arguing that it does not have the approval of the CBK.
As a result, members of the Serbian community in the municipalities in the south of Ibar have not been able to withdraw their earnings from the Serbian budget since mid-February, while in the municipalities in the north of Kosovo, it is possible to withdraw a limited amount of money at the counters of the Post Savings Bank.
The Office for Kosovo emphasizes that now, clients of the Post Savings Bank in the improvised branches in the Serbian part of the four border crossings with Kosovo, will be able to perform all banking operations: withdrawal of salaries, pensions, social financial aid, and other incomes.
They can also make payments into accounts in dinars and foreign currency and other banking transactions, according to the statement.
According to the statement, each facility is equipped with a Post Savings Bank ATM, where the withdrawal of funds from dinar accounts will be possible at any time.
“In support of citizens, the bank sent two mobile branches with wheels that will be available at these locations according to the citizens’ needs,” the statement said.
It is added that “this technical solution is temporary until the normal operation of payment transactions in Serbian areas in Kosovo is established”.
In addition to the Post Savings Bank, dinars in Kosovo are also used by post offices operating in the Serbian system, as well as in trade in areas where Serbs live.
The international community has expressed concern that the decision of the CBK to ban the dinar may have a negative impact on Kosovo Serbs and may increase ethnic tensions, therefore it has requested the postponement of the regulation’s implementation.
However, the Central Bank of Kosovo has announced that the transitional phase of the implementation of its regulation cannot last more than three months.
The issue of the dinar was also the subject of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia on February 27 in Brussels, which ended without concrete results, and the EU’s special envoy Miroslav Lajčák said that additional meetings are needed.
For Kosovo, the issue of the dinar is a technical internal matter, while Serbia insists that this issue be resolved in the Brussels dialogue.
