There are several reasons why payment costs are low in Norway. New technology resulted in an early introduction in Norway of cost-efficient electronic systems. Banks led with new solutions, and the public adopted them quickly. Banks have collaborated on both the establishment and the operation of new services. The resulting economies of scale made it possible to keep costs low. Norwegian and Nordic banks are at the forefront of developments in this area. Norway is among the world leaders in the use of payment cards. Eight out of ten card transactions take place using BankAxept, one of the solutions that banks have developed. According to Norges Bank’s estimates, the social cost of using BankAxept is around NOK 3 per payment. By comparison, payments using international payment cards cost society NOK 13, or four times as much. Credit card use is increasing. It is the point of sale, typically a shop, which pays the costs connected with use, and not the cardholder. While the merchant pays around NOK 0.10 when the customer uses BankAxept, the merchant must usually pay between 1 and  3  2  See Norges Bank Papers 5/2014. BIS central bankers’ speeches  2 percent of the purchase amount when the customer chooses Visa or MasterCard. Merchants are free to pass on this cost to card users, but this seldom happens in Norway. Customers are thus not charged correct prices when given a choice of payment solution.
Meanwhile, in the words of the Socrates, the Greek philosopher, “all wars are fought for money”. We heard some good examples that illustrate this relation in last year’s conference. We heard from Prof. Picard about King Monunius, who is known thanks to the respective coin. He had it minted for the sole purpose of raising a strong army, convinced that his might rested with the army. From Prof. Egro, we learned that Mahmut Pashë Bushatlliu and Ali Pashë Tepelena tried to introduce their coins and banknotes, independently from the Ottoman Empire, not for financial purposes but as a token of rebellion or an attempt to break away from the Empire. Later on, in WW1, we see the banknotes of the Republic of Korça, which are a rare phenomenon not only in terms of numismatics, but also a materialisation of the early issues as a result of the war, after the formation of the Albanian state. During WW2, the Albanian currency underwent radical changes. On its obverse and reverse we no longer see King Zog. Instead, Victor Emanuel III is featured and the most significant change is that the Albanian franc was officially pegged to the fate of the Italian lira. We will have the opportunity to hear, during the day, other interesting and important examples in the monetary and economic history of Albania.