##ystem. the question remains whether in future retail payments integration will be mainly a compliance - driven process or whether it can be pushed further, making electronic payments more widely used. currently, there is evidence of cross - country convergence in the euro area, especially for cards, direct debits and credit transfers, and the speed of convergence has clearly accelerated for most of the payment instruments studied since the introduction of the single currency. 5 despite the convergence, however, there are still large differences in payment behaviour, starting with a choice between cash or cashless payments and then, say, selecting from a range of cashless payment instruments. for instance, the persistent use of cheques in some countries, even though it is steadily declining, shows that payment behaviour changes slowly. this also means that cash remains an important means of payment in the foreseeable future. therefore, the eurosystem continues in its efforts to protect the integrity of the euro banknotes and stay ahead of counterfeiters, e. g. with the introduction of our new series of euro banknotes, called the europa series. promoting further integration of retail payments in europe is seen as economically and socially advantageous. there is empirical evidence that initiatives to integrate and harmonise retail payment markets boost trade and consumption and benefit the whole economy. 6 data from 27 markets in europe between 1995 and 2009 confirms that the shift to efficient proposal for a directive on payment services in the internal market ( “ psd2 ”, european commission / 24 july 2013 ) and proposal for a regulation on interchange fees for card - based payment transactions ( “ if regulation ”, european commission / 24 july 2013 ). see martikainen, e., schmiedel, h. and takalo, t. “ convergence in european retail payments ”. ecb occasional paper no 147, june 2013. sigma convergence and conditional beta convergence for cash, debit card, credit card, direct debit, credit transfer, cheque and e - money in the 27 eu countries for 1995 – 2011 were measured. hasan, i., de renzis, t. and schmiedel, h. “ retail payments and the real economy ”. ecb working paper no 1572, august 2013. bis central bankers ’ speeches electronic retail payments stimulates overall economic growth, consumption and trade. this effect is most pronounced for card payments, followed by credit transfers. deeper integration of retail payments is expected to bring about more price convergence among cashless retail payment

( 2021 ),'remittance prices worldwide quarterlyopens in a new window'4 financial stability board ( 2023 ),'fsb invites senior representatives from firms and industry associations to join cross - border payment taskforceopens in a new window'5 bank for international settlements : committee on payments and market infrastructure ( 2023 ),'bank for international settlements'committee on payments and market infrastructures invites market stakeholders to join cross - border payments interoperability and extension task force'opens in a new window 6 these forums are detailed in the fsb's priority actionsopens in a new window paper ( table 4 ). 2 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches