since settling paper invoices is usually a very cost - intensive process. just imagine that 97. 5 % of all invoices worldwide are estimated to be paper - based! let ’ s think about the average unit cost for a biller per invoice and the average unit cost for a payer. incoming invoices need to be copied, forwarded, entered into different systems and stored – i. e. touched and managed by a large number of hands and transported physically between all of them. these procedures – and also potential mistakes happening along the handling chain – can be significantly changed by introducing electronic invoices that allow seamless automated handling, including direct links e. g. to payment functions. approximately 27 billion invoices per annum are being produced in the eu. it is obvious that any change leading to their more efficient handling quickly results in billions of possible savings per year for the european economy. how to foster the development of european e - invoicing has become an important topic for the european commission, who is currently setting up an official working group to coordinate the standardisation approaches, to address the legal barriers as well as issues of trust and operational risk.. let me now briefly conclude. conclusion with just a few months before the launch of sepa, banks are making preparations in order to be ready. i have been closely enough involved to see the tremendous efforts made by the banking industry, and i expect that the vast majority of banks will be operationally ready for sepa. operational readiness is, however, not enough. indeed, sepa is the next step of the euro. january 2008 will only be the start of this process. sepa will enhance pan - european competition and foster integration, consolidation and innovation. sepa requires us to take a broad view that goes beyond operational readiness. in the coming months, we need to go the extra mile and make an additional effort to ensure the readiness of customers and the card payments market. we also need to think about the next steps. and there are, indeed, important further steps in this process. creative solutions will pay off! some years ago sepa was an idea. in 70 days, sepa will be reality. i wish you an open and fruitful conference. thank you for your attention.

to sepa, and a european forum has been established. it is also impressive to see that many banks have made substantial preparations in order to launch the sepa credit transfer in january 2008. it is expected that over 80 % of banks representing the majority of credit transfer transactions ( over 90 % ) will be operationally ready. the banks will demonstrate their commitment to sepa at a signing event at the end of today. financial integration is also progressing well in other fields. it is a particular coincidence that target2, the next generation of the eurosystem ’ s large value payment system, will be launched today. target2 is an important milestone. it will offer europe a more uniform wholesale payment infrastructure, with a harmonised service level and a single price structure. thus, target2 is another good example of progress in the creation of a common payments area. let ’ s now turn to this year ’ s sepa summit, which is called “ ready for sepa? ”, and rightly so. in my view, this question is not limited to the mere operational readiness of the industry to offer sepa payments. i consider the topic of this conference to be broader. the question should perhaps be understood as, is the industry ready to create a “ truly integrated ” single euro payments area? the ecb sees sepa as a major catalyst for more financial integration in europe. sepa will influence the payment landscape in europe for many years to come and this will involve a rethink by all the parties involved. indeed, it is not enough to defend current market positions or current practices. rather, the point is that sepa will benefit those who bring innovative services to their customers. sepa will benefit those who are future oriented. today i would like to focus in particular on two issues, both of which are much discussed by banks and which are needed to create a truly integrated sepa. the two main questions are, first, what about the readiness of customers? and second, what about the readiness of other payment instruments, in particular payment cards? let me first give you my views on the readiness of the customer. readiness of customers? a parallel can be drawn with another major project, namely the changeover to the euro notes and coins in 2002. indeed, as with sepa, many of the preparations for the euro changeover were not visible to the citizens, as they were carried out by technical experts. furthermore, the banknotes ’ security features were disclosed only four months before