Serbia’s financial market is moving deeper into a digital operating model, with remote contracting no longer functioning as a side channel for early adopters, but as a normal part of how households access loans, savings products, overdrafts, payment accounts and other financial services. The latest data from the National Bank of Serbia show that 139,244 financial contracts were concluded remotely in the first quarter of 2026, a result that is 49.2% higher than in the same period of 2025, when 93,355 such contracts were concluded.
The scale of the change is more important than the quarterly comparison alone. The number of remotely concluded financial contracts is now 4.1 times higher than five years ago, confirming that digital contracting has moved beyond pandemic-era acceleration and become a structural feature of the Serbian banking and payments market. The growth is not limited to one product category. Consumers are increasingly using remote channels for credit, savings, overdraft arrangements, payment accounts and other financial products, showing that trust in digital financial onboarding is gradually deepening.
The National Bank of Serbia’s data also show that video identification continues to play an important role in expanding remote access to financial services. In the first quarter of 2026, 34,141 contracts were concluded through video identification, representing a 33.9% increase compared with the same period last year. These contracts accounted for 24.5% of all remotely concluded financial contracts in the quarter.
This matters because video identification is the critical entry point for users who are establishing a financial relationship with a bank or non-bank payment-service provider for the first time. It allows customers to complete identification without visiting a branch, reducing friction in onboarding and widening access to financial services. For banks and payment institutions, it also creates a scalable channel for customer acquisition, especially among younger users, remote workers, small entrepreneurs and consumers outside large urban centres.
The remaining 105,103 contracts, equal to 75.5% of all remotely concluded contracts in the first quarter, were concluded through other electronic methods. This category grew by 54.9% year on year and mainly covers cases where a customer already has an established business relationship with a provider and wants to activate an additional service. That distinction is important. Video identification is mainly about first-time digital onboarding, while other electronic contracting reflects the deepening of digital relationships with existing clients.
The product structure shows where digital adoption is strongest. Serbian citizens concluded 67,964 loan contracts remotely in the first quarter of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 112.7%. That is the most striking figure in the release because credit products traditionally require stronger verification, risk assessment and customer confidence. The fact that remote loan contracting more than doubled suggests that banks have significantly improved digital sales channels, automated approval processes and customer-facing platforms.
Remote savings contracts also increased. Citizens concluded 18,901 demand-deposit and term-deposit contracts without visiting a bank branch, up 35.7% year on year. This shows that digital banking is not only being used for borrowing, but also for liquidity management and savings decisions. In an environment where interest rates, inflation expectations and household financial planning remain important, the ability to move savings products online gives banks a more flexible channel for deposit mobilisation.
Overdraft services also continued to move into digital channels. In the first quarter, 22,855 contracts for approved account overdrafts were concluded remotely, an increase of 20.4% compared with the same period of 2025. Overdraft products are closely connected with everyday banking behaviour, salary accounts and short-term household liquidity. Their digitalisation shows that remote contracting is becoming embedded in ordinary financial management, not only in larger or one-off financial decisions.
Payment-account opening remains one of the more stable categories. Users concluded 26,796 contracts for opening payment accounts remotely, representing growth of 4.8% year on year. The slower growth rate compared with loans and savings may indicate that digital account opening is already relatively mature, or that account-opening demand is less volatile than product activation by existing users. Even so, the absolute number remains significant because the payment account is the gateway product for broader digital financial services.
Other services accounted for 2,023 remotely concluded contracts, up 3.1% year on year. This is a smaller category, but it confirms that the remote-contracting framework is gradually extending across a wider range of financial products. The next phase of market development will depend on how far banks and payment institutions can standardise digital documentation, reduce processing times and maintain security without making the user experience too complex.
The growth of remote contracting is also changing the competitive structure of Serbia’s financial sector. Traditional banks remain dominant, but non-bank payment-service providers are now part of the same digital-access framework if they meet the required conditions for video identification. In the first quarter of 2026, 705 contracts concluded through video identification, or 2.1% of the total in that category, related to payment services offered by non-bank payment-service providers.
That share is still small, but strategically relevant. It shows that Serbia’s financial market is no longer only a bank-branch market or even only a bank-app market. Payment institutions and electronic-money providers can gradually build direct customer relationships, especially in payments, digital wallets, merchant services and specialised transaction products. The National Bank of Serbia’s regulatory framework is therefore becoming an important factor in balancing innovation, competition and consumer protection.
For banks, the digital shift creates both opportunity and pressure. The opportunity is clear: remote contracting lowers distribution costs, reduces branch dependency, improves customer reach and allows faster product activation. The pressure is equally clear: once users become comfortable signing contracts remotely, they compare offers more easily, expect faster approval and become less tolerant of paperwork-heavy banking. Digital channels therefore make customer retention more demanding.
The strongest signal is in lending. A 112.7% increase in remote loan contracts suggests that banks are increasingly confident in digital credit origination. This may include consumer loans, cash loans and other retail credit products where customer data, salary-account history and internal scoring systems allow faster decisions. For banks with strong digital infrastructure, this improves efficiency. For banks with weaker systems, it creates competitive pressure to modernise.
The digitalisation of savings products has a different implication. Remote deposit contracting makes it easier for customers to respond to interest-rate offers without physical branch interaction. Banks can use digital channels to attract deposits more quickly, especially when funding conditions tighten or when competition for household savings increases. This could make pricing more dynamic and reduce the inertia that traditionally protected branch-based deposit relationships.
The broader economic implication is that Serbia’s financial system is becoming more data-driven. Remote contracting produces digital trails, structured documentation, faster verification and more measurable customer behaviour. That can improve risk management, fraud detection and product design, but it also raises the importance of cybersecurity, data protection and operational resilience. A more digital financial sector is more efficient, but it also has less tolerance for system outages, identity abuse or weak internal controls.
Consumer protection will therefore become more important, not less. Remote contracting can simplify access, but it can also make financial decisions faster than some users fully understand. Credit products, overdrafts and account services need clear disclosure, transparent pricing and reliable complaint channels. The role of the regulator is to ensure that digital convenience does not weaken informed consent or expose vulnerable users to products they do not understand.
The branch network will not disappear, but its role is changing. Physical branches will remain important for complex advisory services, older clients, business customers, cash operations and higher-trust interactions. But the data show that standardised retail products are increasingly moving online. Banks will need to redesign branch strategies around advisory value rather than routine contracting.
This shift is also relevant for financial inclusion. Remote contracting can help users in smaller towns and rural areas access services more easily, especially where branch networks are thinner. It can support freelancers, small businesses and mobile workers who need faster financial access. But inclusion depends on digital literacy, internet access, identification infrastructure and confidence in electronic procedures. A digital market can widen access only if users are able to navigate it safely.
Serbia’s regulatory approach has helped create the conditions for this growth. By allowing video identification under defined conditions and extending access beyond banks to qualified non-bank payment-service providers, the National Bank of Serbia has supported a controlled form of digital market expansion. That approach allows innovation while keeping identification, supervision and compliance inside a formal framework.
The next stage will likely be defined by integration. Remote contracting will increasingly be linked with instant payments, mobile banking, e-commerce, digital wallets, electronic invoicing, merchant acquiring and embedded finance. The financial product will not always begin inside a bank branch or even inside a banking application. It may begin at the point of purchase, in a business platform, in a payroll system or inside a payment flow.
For Serbia’s banks, the message is direct. Digital contracting is no longer an optional service improvement. It is becoming part of the core operating model. Institutions that can combine fast onboarding, reliable identification, clear product pricing and strong risk controls will be better positioned to grow. Those that treat digital channels only as a secondary extension of branch banking will face higher costs and slower customer acquisition.
The first-quarter data therefore show more than a rise in remote contracts. They show a financial market in transition. 139,244 remotely concluded contracts in one quarter, a 49.2% annual increase, and a 4.1-fold rise over five years point to a structural change in how Serbian consumers interact with financial institutions. The branch is no longer the default point of access. For a growing share of users, the financial relationship begins, expands and renews through a screen.
