As of July 1, the day of accession, the amount of insured deposits in Croatia will rise from the current HRK 400,000 to the amount equivalent to 100,000 euros. This is envisaged by the deposit insurance law which the Croatian parliament passed recently, aligning it with European Parliament and European Council directives under which member states have the obligation to insure coverage for the total deposits of each depositor to the amount of EUR 100,000.

Upon Croatia's EU accession, lending and financial institutions as well as insurance companies, with their headquarters in another member country, will be able to directly provide their services in Croatia, giving citizens a broader choice of institutions to do business with, buy shares, securities and stakes in foreign investment funds, and sign insurance contracts.

The Croatian Finance Ministry expects price cuts but also better lending, financial and insurance services.

Citizens will be able to freely open accounts in banks abroad for saving and transactions, borrow in banks abroad as well as buy and sell foreign currencies.

The ministry says that citizens will have greater transparency in the provision of banking and financial services, such as the right to free information on all services a lending institution offers clients, as well as greater transparency in payment transactions and the issue of e-money.

The ministry says uniform regulations have been introduced for the provision of national and cross-border payment services.

In line with the recently amended law on foreign exchange transactions, the European Commission's Regulations No 1889/2005 on controls of cash entering or leaving the EU will apply in Croatia as of July 1, which means that upon entering or leaving the EU, citizens will have to report to customs officials the transfer of cash amounting to EUR 10,000 or more via the Cash Declaration Form. Citizens will be able to obtain the form on the Customs Administration website as well as at border crossings.