Incoming transfers from abroad to the bank accounts of individuals and businesses in Albania marked a significant increase last year.

Based on the data of the Bank of Albania, the number of transfers from abroad to the Albanian banking sector reached 5.8 million, an increase of 44.4% compared to 2022. The number of incoming international transfers has marked the highest historical level, while it touched an increase of 256% compared to the period before the pandemic (the year 2019).

The high increase in the number of incoming transfers in recent years seems to reflect to a large extent the development of the tourism sector, but also the increase in income from remittances and from the export of services.

The growth is quite high both in the segment of businesses and in that of individuals. Transfers to individuals' accounts reached 376,000, an increase of 27.5% compared to the previous year.

While transfers to business accounts reached more than 5.4 million, with an increase of 45.7% compared to 2022.

The devaluation of the Euro and other foreign currencies last year caused the value of transfers, expressed in Lek, to fall. According to the Bank of Albania, incoming transfers from abroad to the bank accounts of businesses and individuals reached the value of Lek 548.6 billion, down 16.2% compared to a year ago. After May, the Euro-Lek exchange rate experienced a strong decline, a decline that reached more than 14% on an annual basis at the peak of the summer season.

The balance of payments figures, expressed in Euros, until the end of the 9th month of 2023, showed that for the first time in its history, Albania had a positive external balance. According to data from the Bank of Albania, for the 9th month of 2023, the current account balance was positive for 28 million euros. This was the first time that Albania recorded a positive current account balance for the period.

Tourism has made the main contribution to the reversal of the country's external position. For the 9th month of 2023, the net income from tourism reached 1.46 billion euros, an annual increase of 73%.

In addition to tourism, in general, the services sector continues to make a high contribution to the growth of the country's exports, starting with fashion services. According to the Bank of Albania, for the 9th month of 2023, the fashion industry brought net income to the economy in the amount of Euro 592 million, an increase of 25% compared to the previous year.

Remittances continue to make a positive contribution to the current account balance. For the 9 months, immigrants' remittances reached the value of Euro 677 million, increasing by 14% compared to a year ago. The new waves of Albanian emigration in recent years have recovered remittances, positively affecting the country's current account balance. High inflation and the fall of the Euro during the last two years may also have encouraged the growth of remittances.