Incoming transfers from abroad to the bank accounts of individuals and businesses in Albania recorded further growth last year.

Based on data from the Bank of Albania, the number of transfers from abroad to the Albanian banking sector reached 8.85 million, up 9.7% compared to 2024.

The number of incoming international transfers has marked the highest historical level, while increasing by five and a half times compared to 2020.

However, the pace of growth in incoming transfers slowed down significantly, compared to the almost 40% increase that was recorded in 2024.

The growth slowed down, both in the business and individual segments. Transfers to business accounts reached 8.27 million, with an increase of 9.4% compared to 2024. While transfers to individual accounts reached 586 thousand, up 13.3% compared to the previous year.

In total, according to the Bank of Albania, incoming transfers from abroad to the bank accounts of businesses and individuals reached the value of Lek 932 billion, up 19% compared to the previous year.

The growth of transfers slowed down, however, even in value, considering that for 2024 the growth had been almost 43%.

The value of transfers from abroad, reported in Lek, has also been affected by the negative effect of the exchange rate in recent years. In the absence of this effect, the growth would have been even higher.

However, last year, the strengthening of the Lek against other currencies, and mainly the Euro, slowed down. For 2025, the official average Euro-Lek exchange rate fell by 2.8%, from 7.4% in 2024 and 8.6% in 2023.

The increase in the number and value of incoming transfers in recent years largely reflects the development of the tourism sector and the growth of services exports in general, but also partly the growth of personal transfers and remittances.

According to data from the Bank of Albania, for the first 9 months of 2025, net income from tourism reached 2.1 billion euros, an annual increase of 19.6%.

Tourism continues to be the main contributor to the country's balance of payments, and, at least according to official statistics from the Bank of Albania, the growth rate has accelerated compared to 2025 levels.

In addition to tourism, the services sector in general continues to make a high contribution to the growth of the country's exports.

According to the Bank of Albania, for the first 9 months of 2024, services brought net income to the economy worth almost Euro 3.5 billion, up 16.4% compared to the previous year.

Remittances also continue to make a positive contribution to the current account balance. For the first 9 months of 2025, emigrant remittances reached the value of 817 million euros, up 5.8% compared to the previous year.