does not mean that people suddenly lose their capabilities. in the future, we see more active and demanding aging population requiring services online as they have used to get them during working life. with experience these people may be more risk sensitive and they are able to demonstrate their needs, but they are no way hindering services development, rather the contrary. it goes without saying that the younger population considers the internet and mobile services as selfevident. people today are used to being online all the time and they are used to travelling according to their wishes. in my youth, a trip from helsinki to stockholm was special, nowadays young people choose where they want to travel or study globally, and people have summer cottages in thailand. in these circumstances it is very difficult to justify why payments need excessive bureaucracy or time. international payment card companies have succeeded to create a global acceptance network benefiting the card users, though authorities in several jurisdictions have pointed out problems in their fee structures. the single euro payments area, sepa, harmonizes european payments : payment services directive harmonises the rights and liabilities of payment service providers and their customers and sepa standards harmonise the technical environment of payments. the migration to sepa may be a burden, but in the long run, it is a source of efficiency and should be seen in that light. bank of finland approach to payment services bank of finland has a longstanding view that the role of central banks should remain rather limited in retail payment systems. central banks as overseers and regulators should promote competition friendly environment for retail banking and payment services as well as ensure that the systems are safe, reliable and efficient to the society as a whole. central banks can act as catalysts for change and improvements. however, retail payment related services should not be provided by central banks as this may distort the competitive environment. bis central bankers ’ speeches we have pointed out and expressed five principles against which we evaluate the development of payment services. firstly, we wish to promote technical efficiency making payments cheaper, faster and more secure. technology is not a goal itself but a tool. often in adopting new technologies in network industries we face the chicken and egg problem : when is the market ripe for new technologies and when the technologies are ripe to benefit the industry and its customers. sometimes here, the central bank ’ s catalyst role may be needed. the second principle for payment services is non - discrimination. there are people who may have limited capabilities to use internet or mobile services. strive for efficiency must

forecast next week, but before that comes out, let us see the general outlook without foretelling any of the content of the forecast. the bank of finland ’ s forecast will be available on 15 june 2011. economic outlook of finland the finnish economy will grow relatively briskly in the immediate years ahead. in 2011 the pace of growth will rise to almost 4 %, but in 2012−2013 it will be much slower. the pre - recession level of output will be regained during the course of 2012, somewhat earlier than estimated half a year ago. export growth will be bolstered by stronger global demand for capital goods towards the end of the forecast period. industrial and construction confidence indicators ( figure 17 ) suggest that companies have positive expectations of the future. especially the construction sector has recovered strongly from the recession. consumer confidence levels recorded in finland in 2010 reached a record high, even though the euro area debt crisis did at times cause uncertainty among finnish consumers. consumer purchasing power was bolstered in by an increase in household incomes, cuts in income tax, the improved employment situation and low interest rates. the stronger confidence and continuation of low interest rates continued to encourage the taking out of new housing loans. the finnish economy is recovering quite strongly. in 2010 the growth boosted by both domestic demand and exports ( figure 18 ). the robust economic growth of gdp seems to continue in 2011. in the first quarter of 2011 gdp growth was about 5. 5 %. private consumption has grown steadily since the second quarter of 2009, but slowed down in the first quarter of 2011. housing construction growth was exceptionally brisk in 2010, and growth is expected to moderate in 2011. construction of other buildings picked up towards the end of the year 2010 but remains still weak at the beginning of 2011 ( figure 19 ). during the course of 2010, finnish exports of goods began to benefit from growth in export markets ( figure 20 ). in 2011, the structure of growth is expected to still be unfavorable for finland ’ s capital - goods - weighted export structure. in 2012 – 2013, global demand for capital goods will begin to accelerate, and boost finnish exports. the recovery of industrial output has progressed at a very different pace in different industries. the chemical industry started bis central bankers ’ speeches to recover early from the recession, and metal industry output began to grow during the course of 2010. forest industry output is not expected to return to pre - recession levels due to cuts in production capacity. electronics industry output is still