The banking industry must move more quickly towards the use of smart cards for financial transactions as Ireland prepares for the introduction of the European single currency in 1999.

The director of an Irish company which creates and operates financial services and systems world wide said the industry had been slow to move - possibly because the only aspect being considered by bankers was the potential redundancy costs that might follow.

Mr Pa Nolan, director of Fexco, said: "The euro may prove to be the catalyst which will establish smart cards for the future."

Speaking at the Smart Cards in Business Conference at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham this week, Mr Nolan said he believed banks should change their attitude to smart cards and see them as a new way of doing business rather than a threat.

"There seems to be a reluctance among the banks to empower customers to handle their own transactions. With smart cards, the owner retains control over what they want, and banks don't like this. There is also the potential reduction in transaction charge revenues," Mr Nolan told the The Irish Times.

The introduction of smart cards will result in cost reductions for banks with fewer tellers required as consumers pay their own bills, transfer money, and load electronic cash onto smart cards.

Mr Nolan urged the Government, the Central Bank, and all participants in the euro discussions to encourage the take-up of smart cards. He maintained the savings made in manufacturing and distributing less coins would reduce the overall cost of the euro's introduction.

One of the presentations featured an electronic shopping mall, called Smartzone, where the cardholder could shop either through television set top boxes or special kiosks.

As the cardholder pays for these products, the transaction with the retailer takes place immediately. All the customer has to do is wait for the delivery.

"We are about to be able to shop worldwide from our own homes, but the key to this form of shopping is that it must provide most of the functions of real world shopping, such as bargains, after-sale support and delivery," said Mr Adrian Norman, founder of Virtual Precinct.

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