Its aim is to provide businesses with a greater choice of funding at lower costs, offer new opportunities for private investors and make the financial system more resilient. By attracting households and companies to invest, a capital markets union mainly enables small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to access market financing in the European Union across national borders.
Available data show significant progress in the deployment of electronic payments such as mobile money, payment cards, payment apps, direct debit and credit funds transfer, instant retail payments and virtual cards as alternatives to cash. In particular, mobile money transactions have grown by leaps and bounds.