Former national money markets were rapidly integrated, in no small measure due to the smooth functioning of TARGET, the new European payment system which, generally speaking, worked well from the outset. The euro is traded on all international financial markets. Moreover, the euro has been introduced in a climate of prevailing price stability in the euro area.
In economic terms, we are referring to a contestable payments market.1 The keynote by Professor Christine Parlour will expand on this point. The second cornerstone is that electronic payment services must be developed to take the 1/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  needs of all user groups into consideration. Electronic payments do normally deliver efficiency.