EasyPay: the fintech reinventing how Albania pays
EasyPay is Albania's leading electronic-money institution: founded in 2010 by Lindita Shomo, it now spans 100+ services, a 580+ agent network and 26 million-plus transactions, with Ria Money Transfer remittances, Wizz Air payments and Open Banking — and it was among the first Albanian fintechs recognised at the European FinTech Awards.
From a 2010 idea to Albania's leading e-money institution
EasyPay began in 2010 with a deceptively simple idea: let Albanians pay bills and top up their phones without queuing at a bank. At the time Albania was a heavily cash-based economy with low card penetration, and a home-grown digital wallet was a bold bet. EasyPay became the country's first non-bank payment institution, licensed by the Bank of Albania as a Non-Banking Financial Institution.
Five years later, in 2015, it secured a full Electronic Money Institution licence — the regulated status that lets it issue e-money and run a genuine digital wallet. Today EasyPay describes itself as the leading digital payment platform in Albania, with a portfolio of more than 100 services spanning utilities, telecoms, insurance, taxes, tickets and money transfers. You can see the full service list on its official website.
Lindita Shomo: the founder behind EasyPay
EasyPay's founder and CEO, Lindita Shomo, is one of the most prominent women in Albanian fintech. She brings more than 32 years in technology and information systems, including 25 years in the financial sector — depth that shows in EasyPay's regulation-first, infrastructure-heavy approach.
Her leadership has made financial inclusion the company's north star rather than a marketing line. Under Shomo, EasyPay has consistently built for the Albanians banks tend to overlook — people without cards, in towns without branches — and turned that underserved majority into a national network. It is proof that world-class fintech leadership can come from a market of any size.
A 580-agent network: fintech that reaches everyone
The engine of EasyPay's reach is its agent network. More than 580 EasyPay agents operate across Albania, turning corner shops and service points into cash-in, cash-out and bill-payment counters. For a population still partly outside the banking system, that physical layer is what makes the digital product usable.
The scale is real: EasyPay has processed over 26 million transactions — a striking figure for a market of Albania's size. It underlines a truth about emerging fintech: distribution, not app design, is usually the moat. Whoever owns the agents owns the customer relationship.
Ria Money Transfer and EasyPay's international links
EasyPay's international story runs through remittances, which are a huge part of Albania's economy. Since 2016 it has partnered with Ria Money Transfer, one of the world's largest remittance networks, letting the Albanian diaspora send money home and recipients collect it through EasyPay's agents.
That is not its only cross-border tie. EasyPay also sells Wizz Air flights and other travel and international services in-app, positioning itself as a gateway between Albanians and global providers — the kind of aggregation that turns a payments app into everyday infrastructure.
Open Banking and what comes next
In 2025 EasyPay pushed into Open Banking, integrating with eight banks so customers can connect accounts and move money more seamlessly between the banking system and their EasyPay wallet. It is a significant step: Open Banking rewards whoever owns the customer interface, and EasyPay is betting that is them.
The strategic logic is clear. Having built distribution and trust, EasyPay is now layering on the connectivity — bank rails, remittances, merchant services — that lets it graduate from bill-payment app to full financial platform.
Recognition: Albania's fintech on the European map
EasyPay's progress has been noticed beyond Albania. In 2017 it was named among the top three companies in Europe for Financial Inclusion at the European FinTech Awards — among the first Albanian fintechs to earn such recognition. It has since been repeatedly named Best Payment Solution Provider in Albania by Global Banking & Finance Review, in 2020, 2022 and 2023.
For a company from a small Balkan market, that is a meaningful signal: EasyPay is not just a local champion but a case study in how financial inclusion can be built profitably and at scale.
Why EasyPay matters — the marketing lesson
Our read: EasyPay's story is a masterclass in sequencing. It earned licences before scale, built physical distribution before chasing app installs, and added international rails once it owned the customer. For any business in an emerging market, the lesson is that trust and distribution compound — and they are far harder for a rival to copy than a feature.
For marketers, EasyPay also shows the power of a clear, repeated promise. 'Pay easily, everywhere' is simple enough to travel by word of mouth through 580 agents — which, in a market like Albania, is the most powerful media channel there is. See the brand in action on the EasyPay YouTube channel.
Quick FAQ
What is EasyPay?
EasyPay is Albania's leading electronic-money institution, founded in 2010 by Lindita Shomo. It offers 100+ services — bill payments, top-ups, tickets, insurance and money transfers — through an app and a network of 580+ agents.
Is EasyPay licensed and regulated?
Yes. It was licensed by the Bank of Albania as a Non-Banking Financial Institution in 2010 and as an Electronic Money Institution in 2015.
Does EasyPay work with Ria Money Transfer?
Yes — since 2016 EasyPay has partnered with Ria Money Transfer, letting the Albanian diaspora send remittances that recipients can collect through EasyPay's agent network.
Who founded EasyPay?
Lindita Shomo, its founder and CEO, who has more than 32 years in technology and 25 in financial services.
EasyPay is proof that fintech leadership can come from anywhere. Lindita Shomo built distribution and trust first, then bolted on remittances and Open Banking — the opposite of the app-first playbook. Founders everywhere should study how EasyPay turned Albania's cash economy into a competitive advantage. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
In emerging markets, distribution and trust beat features — EasyPay's 580-agent network is a moat no app download can buy.
Could an agent-led, inclusion-first model like EasyPay's work in your market — or has mobile banking already closed that gap?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: EasyPay; Albania Tech; European FinTech Awards; Global Banking & Finance Review.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
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