European Union citizens will be able to pay bills anywhere in the 27-country bloc using cards and credit transfers from a single bank account under rules due to be adopted by finance ministers today.
The aim of the single euro payments area or SEPA is to increase competition in the financial sector, cutting costs and increasing choice for consumers.
"We will get an agreement on SEPA today. It will be a huge asset for consumers to bring down prices," German finance minister Peer Steinbrueck said on arrival for a meeting of the 27-nation bloc's finance ministers.
The European Commission, which proposed the measure, expects SEPA to save the EU economy €50 to €100 billion a year by making a cross-border transaction just as cheap as a purely domestic one.
The new pan-EU payments system based on common technical standards would end the current national patchwork, making it easy for new entrants to offer payment services competing with banks cross-border.
It should also boost new types of payment services, such as over mobile phones. The European Central Bank says the move would exploit the benefits of the single currency by encouraging cross-border competition in services to boost growth.
SEPA would enable the EU's 490 million citizens to use any credit or debit card outside their home country and authorise direct debits across the bloc, all from one bank account.