The Kos-GIRO: An Introductory Guide For Collectors

Kos-GIRO Introduction 2IntroductionThe payment systems in many countries have developed to satisfy the unique needsof the main market sectors, these may include consumer, corporate, and governmentpayments. For government and corporate bill payments, several countries use thecheck or a paper based GIRO system.The Kos-GIROThe Kos-GIRO is a payment system using bank accounts instead of cash or checksas a payment instrument. It is one of the most convenient ways to pay or collect. Itsprincipal use is for regular periodic payments like subscription fees, taxes or utilitybills.Companies collecting money using the Kos-GIRO system bill their customers byissuing Kos-GIRO documents containing printed information on the payments to bemade with the customer paying for the billed amount via the banks. The banksreceiving them then transfer the collected amount to the account of the GIRO billerby way of the Banking and Payments Authority of Kosovo (BPK).Both GIRO users and the customers can use any commercial bank in Pristina as acollecting and paying window. So this system can be widely used in the payments of,telecommunication charges, electricity bills and other government/private fees.The GIRO Clearing SystemThe Kos-GIRO clearing system was introduced in October 2004 and is owned andoperated by the Banking and Payments Authority of Kosovo. The GIRO clearingsystem is a multilateral net payment system that processes only small value creditpayments, which may not exceed the limit set by the BPK; currently, this limit standsat 10.000 Euros.The Banking and Payments Authority of Kosovo May 2005