Easier cross-border bank transfers coming soon

(ADW) Soon bank transfers between European countries will become easier and cheaper for individuals and businesses. The announcement came after the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed legislation on Tuesday, and due to be implemented by 2014. This is certainly good news, especially for the large number of cross-border workers in Luxembourg.

Citizens of the 27 EU states and five other non-member states, including Switzerland, "will no longer have to worry about which member state their bank account is in" said Sari Essayah, MEP spokesman for the project named “SEPA” (Single Euro Payments Area).

They can "pay anywhere from a bank account in a member state under the same conditions as normal interior payment. All direct credit and debit cross-border transfers, will be made under the same conditions”, stated Essayah,

What this all means is that if a person is employed in another member state than the one they live in, there will be no need to open a new bank account in the country of employment. Salaries may be received directly into the bank account in the country of origin. It will also possible to pay bills in one country via an account in another. This is something Luxembourg’s many cross-border workers will certainly be pleased about.

Businesses will benefit as they will no longer need to have bank accounts in each country where they operate, explained the spokesman.

Competition between banks should bring down prices by causing "a reduction in hidden costs still too high at present”. According to the legislation promoters, they expect a saving of €123 billion over six years.

This regulation was approved Tuesday by an overwhelming majority in Strasbourg’s European Parliament after several years of negotiations within the EU.

1 February 2014 has been set as the legally binding deadline for the migration of banks to the new system. Apart from the 27 EU countries, five are included in the legislation, namely: Switzerland, Norway, Monaco, Iceland and Liechtenstein.