This articulation of the price policy is the responsibility of each individual payment provider, normally the bank. The execution time and price for cross-border retail transfers will and must be considerably reduced. This is not because the EU-Commission or the ECB wants this and tries to persuade the banks to achieve it. I am convinced that technological progress will allow such development and competition will press strongly in this direction. Some, although they are the exception, permit the customer to manipulate his cross-border accounts in several Member States from his PC or the bank's establishments.
Non banks stand ready to offer alternative payment services.
Therefore banks in the EU are well advised not to wait but to jump on the possibilities offered by technology in the Internal Market. These developments will certainly be based on the dematerialization of money, the realisation of real time in execution, and the improvement of the finality. Clear developments are already happening for small retail or interpersonal cash payments, which increasingly will be replaced by non-cash transfers. Proton in Belgium is an excellent example. Interpersonal non-cash payments are possible.