maximum intraday credit of 1 billion euros per bank to credit institutions in their euro rtgs systems against the deposit of appropriate collateral. spilling over into an overnight credit and the associated monetary policy implications are to be prevented by repossession of the intraday credit at an earlier closing time and the setting of high penalty rates. i would like to venture a brief look forward to the future payments landscape in europe. features of foreign payments owing to the comparatively small number of cross - border transactions, there has so far been no real pressure for rationalising foreign payments. most cross - border payments are still settled through a large number of correspondent banking relationships and, typically, with a two - day value date. apart from the exchange of swi. f. t. messages, very little is standardised there are only the beginnings of a standard international bank code, for example. complicated pre - printed forms and statistical reporting obligations make a simple exchange of payments more difficult. however, this should not be regarded as an excuse for the existing shortcomings in cross - border payments, such as long settlement times and high charges still mainly occurring in the retail segment. in the euro area, these differences when compared with the efficient and costeffective operations of the national systems will become very obvious and create political pressure on us all. in the interests of a fully functional european market, foreign payments will, at all events, need further improvements. large - value payments as a result of their importance for monetary policy, large - value payments are especially “ close to the heart ” of the central banks. in order to guarantee a single money market and the necessary interest rate arbitrage in stage three of emu, it will be necessary to settle payments - including cross - border - payments - not just within one business day but, where possible, within a matter of a few minutes. the target system which has been developed by the central banks is thus the key medium for implementing the single monetary policy and an efficient euro money market. target will not be the only large - value payment system in the eu, however. net settlement systems, too, may continue to operate if they meet what are known as the lamfalussy minimum standards and settle payments through central bank accounts. thus, the net settlement system of the euro banking association ( eba ), which still settles transactions in private ecu, is being re - equipped to process euro payments in future. in addition to this crossborder system, there will

mr. hartmann discusses the introduction of the euro and its impact on payment systems speech by mr. wendelin hartmann, a member of the directorate of the deutsche bundesbank, at sibos helsinki, closing plenary session on 24 / 9 / 98. it is a great honour for me to say a few words, here at this major conference, on the forthcoming, important changes that will accompany the introduction of the euro. we are all aware that payment systems have long since moved from the seclusion of pure settlement arrangements to become the focus of political and strategic attention. it is not just a question of payments to settle the cost of economic activities. much greater importance is attached to financial transactions in particular ; over the past few years they have grown at a furious pace - not least as a result of globalisation and technological progress. the establishment of efficient and, above all, - as far as possible - risk free payment systems is therefore a necessity. payments will also play a significant role in the introduction of the euro : a major part of the preparations undertaken by the banks and central banks in europe deals with that area. european economic and monetary union ( emu ) will undoubtedly transform the payments landscape in europe and - as a result - worldwide. what is indisputably the most important project for the european central banks is the introduction of target - meanwhile well known to the financial industry world - wide which has been in the simulation phase since july of this year. the tests are proceeding satisfactorily overall and give cause for optimism ; the credit institutions are now actually involved in all the countries of the european union ( eu ). the most recent decision of the governing council of the european central bank ( ecb ) to include the four eu countries not ( yet ) participating in emu has also settled the last undecided points which were the subject of animated discussion in the past. confirmation has been given that the rtgs systems of the “ out ” countries will be connected to target but that they will be subject to special conditions regarding the provision of liquidity. the “ out ” central banks may maintain interest - bearing deposits with the european system of central banks ( escb ) and initiate payment orders from them. however, they may not receive non - interestbearing overdrafts from the emu - central banks, a facility for which there is provision in the settlement of target payments for “ in ” central banks. the “ out ” central banks may grant a