Bank charges, commissions to decline sharply
Banking services will become significantly cheaper in Greece by next year, when the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is realized. SEPA promises the actual unification of the domain of banking transactions – within a year at the earliest and by 2010 at the latest. The abolishment of borders is particularly important for those who borrow or have deposits in Greece, as in most cases they now pay higher charges for their banking transactions than other Europeans. Significant benefits are expected for Greek tradesmen, too, who also pay higher commissions than their European colleagues. The economy and finance ministers of the European Union approved of the SEPA project on Tuesday and authorized the European Commission to promote the directive that will implement the plan. The abolishment of borders touches upon three sensitive transaction sectors: credit/debit cards, remittances and direct debit. Greek bank customers stand to benefit considerably, as commissions for money transfers and remittances in this country are 10 times as high as the European average. Charges for services such as cash-machine withdrawals are far higher than in most European countries, too. However, SEPA will benefit all European citizens as according to the European Commission it will save up to 28 billion euros per year across Europe, which is the money that people are charged for having the above transactions executed. SEPA will provide that all European banks must merge their debit card use systems so that every European can access his or her bank account in any country. The prospect of merging «plastic money» systems along the lines of credit cards is particularly important for European citizens, who own 350 million cards and make transactions worth -12 billion per year and -6 billion worth of overdrafts on their accounts. Its importance is associated with the fact that 70 percent of these cards are debit cards, unlike in Greece where 70 percent of cards are credit cards. A key measure of the new system will be the abolishment of all additional charges and obstacles that trouble companies and consumers in their domestic and international transactions.
