The new service will come into effect on January 9, 2025 and cover all banks in Cyprus and the single euro payments area (SEPA).
“Customers will be able to receive instant payments from any bank in Cyprus or the SEPA zone in significantly less time compared to traditional bank transfers,” stated the association.
Currently, standard transfers take one to two days to process.
The new system will see funds transferred from the payer’s account to the recipient’s within just 10 seconds, regardless of the country of origin.
Supermarkets and toy stores in particular thrived during this period, according to Antoniou.
“We can express our full satisfaction regarding both the footfall and turnover at supermarkets, shopping centres, high streets, and city centres,” Antoniou told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).
“The past week has been exceptionally good for retail as a whole,” he added.
Moreover, he mentioned that supermarkets claimed the largest share of sales, but toy stores, particularly those selling classic board games, performed remarkably well.
“Visitors aged over 50 favoured taverns, as well as music-and-dance venues, while those under 50 enjoyed late-night entertainment at leisure centres,” said Neophytos Thrasyvoulou, president of the Federation of Leisure Centre Owners (Osika).
The festive season also saw significant attendance at Christmas villages, which were popular among both local and foreign visitors.
The statistical results received from the London exhibition were quite positive and show that the UK market is the most important one for Cyprus.
“If there is indeed a positive development in the first part of 2025 similar to the first months of 2024, then I believe that 2025 may surpass 2024,” Thanos Michaelides, chairman of the hoteliers’ association said.
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) on Monday issued a circular to inform fund managers and related entities about the submission of quarterly statistics for Q4 2024.
The reporting deadline is set for January 31, 2025, and compliance is mandatory under CySEC law.
The circular applies to a broad range of entities, including Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs), UCITS Management Companies, and internally managed funds.
The public interest rate for overdue payments has been set at 5.5 per cent, while the judicial interest rate has been established at 6 per cent.
Both rates will come into effect on January 1, 2025.
The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Monday, December 30, with losses.
The general Cyprus Stock Market Index stood at 213.69 points at 12:25, reflecting a drop of 0.12 per cent.
The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 130.01 points, representing a decrease of 0.06 per cent.
The total value of transactions came up to €282,409, until the aforementioned time during trading.
In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, alternative, investment firm and hotel index fell by 0.13 per cent, 0.22 per cent, 0.87 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively.
The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (no change), Hellenic Bank (no change), Logicom (+1.27 per cent), Petrolina (+0.58 per cent), and Demetra (-0.88 per cent).
