Paying abroad as you pay at home: The impact of SEPA on Dutch cross-border retail payments

Abstract

Results from a longitudinal study among Dutch consumers indicate that the unification of the European payments market is beginning to pay off. The similarity between payment behaviour of Dutch consumers within the Netherlands and when visiting or making a remote payment to another country in the euro area has increased during the past seven years. Perhaps even more importantly, the satisfaction of the Dutch about cross-border payments within the euro area has also improved considerably, but some consumers still experience problems with respect to ease of use, transaction speed and acceptance of their preferred payment instrument when paying abroad or paying cross-border. Such issues deserve further attention on a European scale.