OREANDA-NEWS. December 14, 2010. Regular euro payments made to countries in the European Economic Area in Swedbank's Internet Bank and at the bank's branches will become considerably cheaper on 1 January 2011 and cost the same as domestic payments today. Receipts in euros inside Europe will cost nothing instead of the present 90 kroons. The bank will stop offering the urgent domestic payment service, reported the press-centre of Swedbank.

Head of Swedbank's Private Transactions and Investment Products Department Ede Raagmets says that the changeover to the euro will be good for entrepreneurs doing business in Europe as well as private persons who make payments to foreign banks. “Until now, the cost of international payments made to countries in the European Economic Area started at 30 kroons depending on the payment type, and a service charge of 90 kroons had to be paid for receipts in euros,” said Raagmets. “In the new year, the price of making a payment in the Internet Bank drops to six kroons or 38 euro cents and the earlier 90-kroon free for receipt of euro payments will no longer be charged.”

The prices of regular domestic payments in Swedbank will not change and remain at 6 kroons or 38 euro cents if made in the Internet Bank or 15 kroons or 96 euro cents if made at a branch.

Swedbank will stop offering the urgent domestic payment service as a result of the changeover. “Due to technical limitations we cannot always guarantee that an urgent payment moves faster after we transfer to euro-based systems, which is why it becomes almost equivalent to regular domestic payments, which cost less for the client and on banking days move every hour between 9 am and 6 pm,” explained Raagmets. “It takes a payment 50 minutes to an hour and a half to reach the payee's bank, depending on the moment when the payment was initiated.”

Domestic service charge is applied to regular payments made in euros in the European Economic Area with the correct IBAN and BIC.

Kroons in bank accounts will be converted to euros on 1 January 2011 and payments in kroons can no longer be made. All transfers are made and all invoices are paid in euros. The bank will convert contractual payments and payments sent in advance to euros itself using the central exchange rate.