EU shoppers fare well on bank fees

Transaction charges for retail cross-border credit transfers in euro within the EU must be charged at the same rate as equivalent domestic transactions from July 1st.

On this date, another part of the Cross-Border Payments Regulation adopted by the EU in December 2001 comes into law.

Irish holidaymakers and business travellers have already benefited. Since July 1st, 2002, charges for electronic payments in euro such as ATM withdrawals and card payments must be charged at the same rate in the EU as they are in Ireland.

The regulations apply to cross-border payments up to €12,500 but, from January 2006, this limit will be increased to €50,000. The regulations do not apply to cheques. The European Consumer Centre (ECC) in Dublin welcomed the implementation of further provisions of the legislation as a "very positive step".

"We are pleased to see any kind of movement and development that promotes cross-border transactions and shopping in the internal market," a spokeswoman said. She added that the ECC's only concern would be that banks would seek to increase their domestic charges to compensate for having to charge cross-border transactions at the same rate.

The cross-border payments legislation was initially opposed at the proposal stage by the banking industry here on the basis that it costs more to provide cross-border services than domestic ones. The new Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA) will enforce the measure in Ireland.

Customers making cross-border transfers must provide the international bank account number (IBAN) of the recipient's account and the bank identifier code (BIC), otherwise they may be subject to additional charges. All account holders will be informed of their own IBAN and BIC on their account statements from July 1st.