Serbia: Central Register of Electronic Bills of Exchange (CReM) Started Operating on 1 December!
Newsletter 155
The Central Register of Electronic Bills of Exchange (CReM) has officially begun operating, marking Serbia’s formal introduction of electronic bills of exchange. As of 1 December 2025, all legal entities and entrepreneurs may use a digital alternative to paper bills of exchange, which have until now been exclusively used in Serbia. CReM has the legal status of a public register, ensuring full transparency, reliability, and legal certainty in the circulation of electronic bills of exchange and representing a significant step forward in the digitalisation of banking operations. Electronic bills of exchange will contain all elements prescribed by the Law on Bills of Exchange, while users will be able to utilise this security instrument without the need to visit a bank to complete it.
The functioning of the register is straightforward – interested parties submit a request for authorisation to access the Central Register through their commercial banks, using a qualified electronic signature via the ConsentID application. In accordance with their bank-registered authorisations, users will be able to review electronic bills of exchange, provide avails, register, transfer, endorse and delete them, submit payment and revocation orders, withdraw them from enforced collection, as well as request excerpts on e-bills of exchange, which may be used in court and enforcement proceedings as public and authentic documents.
The debtor submits an electronic request to the bank for the registration of an e-bill of exchange. Once the bank verifies that both the request and the electronic bill of exchange have been submitted and signed by a person authorised for this action—based on the specimen signature card or another agreed method—the bank sends a specific electronic message confirming the receipt and validity of the request. Following the receipt of this message, and provided that the creditor accepts the electronic bill of exchange through the Central Register, the National Bank of Serbia records the data on that bill of exchange in the Register. The National Bank of Serbia publishes the data on its website no later than the next day after the creditor has accepted the electronic bill of exchange.
