Mali: 1,696,220 Apply for 6,000 Dinars, Payout From Tuesday
The application deadline for Serbia's one-time 6,000 dinar payment expired at midnight, with 1,696,220 citizens signed up. Payouts start Tuesday, first for pensioners, running through Friday.
A total of 1,696,220 adult citizens had applied for the one-time 6,000 dinar payment by this morning, caretaker Finance Minister Sinisa Mali announced, hours before the application deadline closed at midnight on September 21 on the Treasury Administration’s portal.
The application was open to every adult citizen not already entitled to payments under the Law on the Right to Free Shares. Pensioners and recipients of cash social assistance did not need to apply: their money is paid out automatically, based on data already held in state records.
Mali summed up the tally in a statement posted this morning:
So far, 1,696,220 citizens have successfully applied, and pensioners and recipients of cash social assistance still need to be added to that number.
Mali posted the update around 7:50 AM on Instagram, according to the Novosti website.
Who Gets Paid First
Payouts begin as early as tomorrow and run through Friday, September 25. The order follows a set schedule: on Tuesday, September 22, money goes out to Share Fund beneficiaries, pensioners, and recipients of cash social assistance. Citizens who applied on their own through the portal will start receiving payments from Wednesday, September 23. “Payments to citizens will start as early as tomorrow and will run through Friday,” Mali said.
Where Does the Money Land?
The funds go exclusively into accounts at Postal Savings Bank. Anyone without an account there gets one opened free of charge, a dedicated purpose account with no fees for upkeep or withdrawals. The money will not reach accounts at other banks: anyone without a Postal Savings Bank account has to collect the payment in person, either at a Postal Savings Bank branch or the nearest post office, with a valid ID. Funds sitting in the dedicated account can be withdrawn within one year of the payment date.
Why the Numbers Don’t Match
Different sources give different application totals because each was recorded at a different moment. In this morning’s post, Mali cited 1,696,220 successful applications. In an earlier statement, current as of Sunday, the minister spoke of 1,656,549 applications, adding that the Treasury Administration’s portal had logged 2,728,000 inquiries from citizens checking whether they qualified for Share Fund benefits. Srpske Novine reported yesterday that 1,656,549 citizens had applied by that point, meaning this morning’s figure shows an increase of roughly 40,000 applications since yesterday, right before the deadline closed.
Part of a Larger Package
The 6,000 dinar payment is funded mostly through the Share Fund, with an additional roughly 18 billion dinars (about 153 million euros) topped up from the budget. It is part of a budget rebalance that set aside a total of 71 billion dinars (about 605 million euros) in support for pensioners, social assistance recipients, and adult citizens.
Mali also noted that on September 14, a one-time payment worth about 50 billion dinars (about 400 million euros) went out to around two million citizens. Depending on the size of their pension, pensioners received 35,000, 27,500, or 20,000 dinars, socially vulnerable citizens received 25,000 dinars, and war veterans received 10,000 dinars each. According to Mali, that payment is part of a broader support package worth 980.6 million euros, which also includes cheaper prescription drugs starting August 1 and 30,000 vouchers for pensioners’ vacations in Serbia.
