Cross-border retail payment services in the euro area  You may recall that in September 1999 the ECB published a report presenting the views of the Eurosystem on how to improve cross-border retail payment services and defining the objectives that the industry is expected to achieve by 1 January 2002. In September this year, the ECB published a progress report. This report concludes that, although most objectives have not yet been fulfilled, substantial progress has been made in preparing the ground for a more efficient handling of cross-border retail payments. Allow me to give you some examples: i. The banking sector has agreed on straight-through processing standards, which will allow the automated execution of cross-border payments;  ii. The Euro Banking Association has developed a payment system specifically designed for cross-border low-value payments, which commenced operations on 20 November 2000;  iii. As from 2002, cross-border payments below EUR 12,500 will no longer need to be reported for balance of payments purposes and hence statistical reporting will no longer constitute a justification for high customer fees. Insufficient progress has been made in the field of customer prices. In too many cases, the payee has been charged with some costs even though the payer had agreed to bear all costs. Two initiatives currently being developed by the European Credit Sector Associations are intended to address this situation. First, a multilateral interbank exchange fee is being developed, which, provided that the fee is low, could be acceptable and could indeed contribute to solving the problem of “double-charging”.
In the period from July to September 2000, the three-month average of M3 growth stood at 5.4%, above the reference value of 4½%. However, some indicators suggest that over recent months a moderation in monetary growth has been occurring. Let me now turn, within the second pillar, to the prospects for economic growth in the euro area, as these represent a key factor affecting the outlook for price stability in the medium term. The latest estimate by Eurostat for the second quarter of 2000 indicated a real increase in GDP of 0.8%. The pace of new job creation has remained high and the unemployment rate currently stands at 9.0%, a level not seen since mid-1992. Some monthly indicators suggest that some moderation in real GDP growth might have occurred in the second half of this year, mainly as a result of the negative impact of the recent increases in oil prices on domestic income. However, by contrast with previous periods of strong oil price rises, the euro area economy is now less dependent on oil. This should help to prevent any sustained negative effect on confidence. There are therefore good reasons to remain confident with regard to growth prospects. On the external side, euro area export growth should benefit further from the expansion of the global economy. Considering these factors together, the growth dynamic in the euro area can be expected to be maintained in the coming years.