EU single payments area plan can save €5.3bn

PROPOSALS for a single payments area throughout the EU will be outlined by Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy in Brussels today, promising huge savings for businesses and consumers.

Currently, electronic payments are subject to national rules, while legal problems prevent cross-border direct debits.

The cost of the current fragmented system is estimated at 2%-3% of GDP or about €52 trillion in the union. The proposed directive would save banks €5.3 billion, reduce the cost of a payment for customers to a few cent and reduce the time such transactions would take.