As a result, our interest rates are now at a lower level relative to others than in the past, putting downwards pressure on our exchange rate. 11 See Bascand (2017) for an analysis of New Zealand’s foreign debt position.
Currently, there is evidence of cross-country convergence in the euro area, especially for cards, direct debits and credit transfers, and the speed of convergence has clearly accelerated for most of the payment instruments studied since the introduction of the single currency.5 Despite the convergence, however, there are still large differences in payment behaviour, starting with a choice between cash or cashless payments and then, say, selecting from a range of cashless payment instruments.