If these costs are compared with those of the large-value payment systems, it becomes clear how much catching-up is still to be done in the area of retail payments. Depending on the amount submitted, a TARGET payment will cost no more than 0.80-1.75 euros. The EBA and the EAF will charge 0.25 and 0.15 euros, respectively, per transaction.
In my opinion, the banks have failed to eliminate these long-familiar shortcomings at the right time. A few years ago, in fact, there was a promising initiative to make retail payments more efficient and, above all, cost-effective by means of the ACH (Automated Clearing House) solution.