Sir, - Father Walter J. Hegarty misses the point when he states (November 20th) that only currency differences stand in the way of a cross-border clearing system for euro-zone cheques. Were matters so simple, such a system would certainly be in place. I acknowledge that Father Hegarty is not alone in thinking that, with the arrival of the euro on January 1st, it should be possible for euro-denominated cheques written in one euro-zone country to be readily used in another. However, a pan-European system does not exist for the clearing and processing of cheques that are produced to different standards and specifications in the various euro-zone countries.
This means that cheques written in euro, which are drawn on institutions here, should be used only in the Republic of Ireland. Used elsewhere, they will take longer to process and may attract higher clearing charges. Similarly, cheques written in euro, which are presented here and drawn on institutions from other euro-zone countries, will take longer to process and may attract higher clearing charges than corresponding cheques drawn on domestic institutions. Similar advice is being given by banks to consumers in the other euro-zone countries.
Of course, cheques are not the only means of making payment. For cross-border payments in particular, the range of alternatives includes electronic payments, account transfers, card-based payments, Internet online banking and currency drafts.
In addition, financial institutions can now allocate an international bank account number (IBAN) and bank identifier code (BIC) to their customers to facilitate more efficient cross-border payments straight through to accounts. - Yours, etc.,
Felix O'Regan, Communications Manager, Irish Bankers' Federation, Nassau Street, Dublin 2.