2  BIS Review 15/2005  Similarly, the integration of financial markets is well advanced in the euro area, facilitating the efficient allocation of savings to the most profitable investment opportunities and allowing market participants to partly diversify away the risk of asymmetric shocks.1 The euro has visibly accelerated integration, particularly in the money market.
Still, and in keeping with the spirit of diversity, I do see potential benefits behind such new payment instruments. Those relate, in particular, to the segment of person-to-person payments, or P2P transactions.