Digital Signature in the Microcredit Sector: A Step Towards More Efficient and Secure Operations

Sarajevo, May 15, 2025 – Organized by the Association of Microfinance Organizations in BiH – AMFI, with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Western Balkan Digital Financial Services and Embedded Finance Project, in partnership with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), a professional workshop titled “Challenges in Developing Secure Digital Signing in the Microcredit Sector” was held today in Sarajevo.The workshop is part of a Cooperation Agreement between AMFI and IFC aimed at strengthening the capacity of the microcredit sector in areas of digital transformation, cybersecurity, and access to modern financial services. The event brought together representatives of regulatory institutions, information security experts, technical solution providers, and representatives of microcredit organizations from across Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Digital signatures are already being used internally within the sector, but the key step forward is enabling their wider application in client-facing operations. This increases legal certainty, efficiency, and trust in the digital processes we are implementing,” stated Elma Zukić, President of AMFI.

The workshop covered technical, regulatory, and operational aspects of implementing qualified electronic signatures in line with European standards (eIDAS) and best practices in information security (ISO/IEC 27001). Experiences were shared by representatives of the IDDEEA Agency, IFC, Halcom, the Banking Agency of Republika Srpska, and leading experts in IT and digital security.

Pavel Shust, IFC`s Digital Financial Services Expert, emphasized the importance of a strategic approach to digital onboarding and system interoperability:

“Qualified electronic signatures are key to a secure digital economy. The microcredit sector has growing potential to lead in their integration.”

The workshop also featured a presentation of the 2025 Digital Readiness Analysis of the microcredit sector, which shows that electronic signatures are already being used internally by many organizations, though there remains room for improvement – an effort to which this workshop has certainly contributed. However, their use in client-facing operations is still not fully established. The implementation of functional, legally reliable, and user-friendly solutions is critical for broader adoption across the sector.

It was especially highlighted that the majority of microcredit clients come from the microenterprise category with up to nine employees. Among them, companies with 1–5 employees make up over 80% of all firms and account for the largest share of revenue and profit – generating around 66% of total income and 64% of profit in this segment – making them a cornerstone of employment and local economic growth.

The workshop was further supported by partners Halcom d.o.o. Sarajevo and CloudIT, who presented practical technical solutions for digital signing and electronic identity management.

It was concluded that microcredit organizations in BiH are increasingly ready to enter a new phase of digital operations, and that continued cooperation with institutions such as IFC will be essential for establishing a secure, legally compliant, and technologically sustainable digital signature framework.