The EU has Aapproved a Reduction in Wire Transfer Fees

The EU Council, bringing together Member State Ministers, said it had adopted changes yesterday to align the costs of cross-border euro payments between eurozone and non-eurozone countries and increase transparency in charges for currency conversion services.

Since 2002, the same charges for cross-border and national euro payments in the euro area have been applied, but cross-border payments in euro from non-eurozone countries are subject to high charges, the announcement noted. The changes will align the fees for cross-border euro payments for services such as credit transfers, card payments, or cash withdrawals with the fees for corresponding national payments of the same value in the national currency of the EU country where the payment service provider the user of these services. What do the changes for Bulgaria mean here?

Thanks to the measure, the benefits of cheap cross-border transfers in euros will cover another 150 million non-euro area users and additional 2.5 billion additional operations per year.

Transparency fees will also be introduced. When users make card payments or withdraw cash abroad, they have the option of choosing whether to pay in local currency or in their national currency. Under the new rules, users will be notified of applicable fees before making their choice.

This will be achieved by introducing a duty to disclose the charges applied as a percentage of all conversion fees to the most recent exchange rate of the European Central Bank. Most provisions will begin to apply from 15 December 2019, the communication states.

Most provisions will begin to apply from 15 December 2019.