Financial Integration and Common Payment Systems
Fragmented payment systems are a major obstacle to financial integration at the regional and international levels. The European Union has launched ambitious policies for the ceation of common payment systems among its country members. Significant results have been achieved in some aspects, but one can say that the European Union is still largely caracterised by fragmented payment systems. This means that one of the basic conditions for financial integration is not fullfilled in the European Union. The purpose of this paper is, in the first place, to present the situation of the different payment systems in the European Union (I), and then, to draw lessons from the European experience for financial integration and payment systems in Asia (II).