Fees for cross-border payments in euro drop in non-euro zone countries
As of December 16, consumers and businesses in non-euro zone EU countries will enjoy cheaper cross-border payments in euro, the European Commission said.
New EU ruleswill ensure that all cross-border payments in euro in non-euro zone member states – Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden – will be priced the same as domestic payments, the statement said.
European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, responsible for an Economy that Works for People, said: “These rules will allow all our citizens and companies to equally benefit from cheap cross-border euro payments.
“This is a positive and concrete example of how the Single Market can bring real benefits to European consumers. For instance, a family in Romania that wants to send money in euro to their child doing an Erasmus exchange in Paris will no longer have to factor in additional costs, as they will now be paying the same fee as for a domestic transaction in Romania,” Dombrovskis said.
The European Commission said that it would closely monitor the application of these rules, “and will liaise closely with competent national authorities to ensure that they are implemented correctly”.
Bulgarian website Banker reported that reducing the cost of transfers abroad will be offset by an increase in bank fees at national level.