EU says cross-border payments are cheaper

Cross-border money transfers have become significantly cheaper since 2001 thanks to EU rules, the European commission says in a new report.

The paper says a cross-border transfer of €100, which would have cost around €24 in 2001, now costs an average of €2.50.

This, Brussels says, is thanks to the EU regulation on cross-border euro payments introduced in 2001.

The commission says the new rules have provided banks with an incentive to develop and invest more in an EU-wide payments infrastructure. 

"This EU action has brought real benefits to consumers,” said EU internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy.

“The price of cross-border payments has reduced dramatically in many countries, but - contrary to what had been feared - the price of domestic payments has not gone up.”

McCreevy also praised a project by European banks to create a “single euro payments area” which will treat all euro payments as though they were domestic.

“By using fully automated payment systems that are of lower cost, this project has enormous potential to bring about huge savings and we fully support it,” he said.

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