Annual Report 2004

International Bank Account Number
(IBAN) must be indicated in the
payment order. The automatic processing
of the payment order up to
the crediting of the beneficiaryÕs account
is only possible if these two
codes are (correctly) indicated. Customers
may ask their banks to provide
their BIC and IBAN.
Thanks to the OeNBÕs centralized
STEP2 service, which the overwhelming
majority of Austrian banks
uses, it was possible to harness synergies
and prevent the development of
parallel structures. The realized
economies of scale and a price structure
based on the principle of cost recovery
rather than a for-profit approach
afford all participants attractive
transaction fees.
GivenAustrianbanksÕstrongfoothold
in the new Member States and
the interest of banks based outside
of Austria in gaining access to STEP2,
the OeNB started to service credit institutions
in other EU countries in
May2004.Attheendoflastyear,
banks from the Czech Republic, Ger-
Indirect STEP2 Participants Connected via the OeNB’s Access Point
and Total STEP2 Participants
85% of all Austrian banks
Countries where the OeNB services participants
Other countries with STEP2 connectivity
Source: OeNB.
Integration of Payment Services in Europe and Consolidation
of Cash Distribution Structures in Austria
OeNB plays an active
role in Central and
Eastern Europe
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