Frits Bolkestein, the Commissioner responsible for the Internal
Market, will stress at a meeting this week that it is the
Commission's ultimate objective to ensure that there is no
difference between domestic payments (made in a Member State) and
cross-border payments.
The Commission says that improvements are necessary to the
operation of payment systems and at a meeting in Brussels on 9th
November, various speakers will debate how this might best be
done.
According to the Commission, technical systems are currently the
biggest block to cheaper transfers. A study by the Commission
showed that at the end of 1999 the average cost of making a
cross-border payment of €100 was €17. The Commission says that
several improvements are being developed such as the creation of an
International Banking Account Number or an International Payment
Instruction.
The meeting will also explore the future for electronic payment.
The Commission comments that there is currently no reliable,
secure, efficient, practical and cheap way of paying on the
internet.
