L. whereas European consumer and business confidence in the digital environment is low due to unnecessary barriers to e-commerce such as fragmentation of the EU market, consumers' uncertainty about data confidentiality, security of transactions and consumer rights in case of problems, and whereas in certain aspects of e-commerce Europe is lagging behind the United States and Asia; whereas the creation of a ‘Digital Single Market’, facilitating transactions across national borders in an on-line environment for all consumers across the ...[+++] European Union, is an important part of the reinvigoration of the Single Market as it provides citizens with a wider choice of products and services, whereas overcoming barriers to cross-border e-commerce and boosting consumer confidence is essential to achieving an attractive, integrated digital single market for Europe and stimulating consumer markets and the broader economy,

This charge ranges between 0.4% of the transaction value increased by €0.05 and 1.05% increased by €0.05 for payments with Maestro debit cards, and between 0.80% and 1.20% for transactions with MasterCard consumer credit cards.

For every dollar P and C consumers paid in premiums, over 11¢ went to transaction taxes (1610) IBC encourages greater federal-provincial collaboration in reviewing the mix, fairness, and efficiency of transaction taxes for our industry under the current tax regimes, which result in a much higher overall burden compared to other financial services.

B. whereas the clearing and settlement industry is successful, innovative and responsive to customer pressure on domestic transactions, whereas there is significant scope for increased efficiency in cross-border clearing and settlement of securities transactions, where the infrastructure for securities settlement is fragmented in a multiplicity of domestic systems; whereas some users of clearing and settlement services tend, however, to be large firms, which are able to negotiate firmly with service providers to defend their interests; whereas the importance should be stressed of achieving a global system which provides a safe and eff ...[+++]icient framework for transactions to all users (investors, issuers, financial intermediaries) thereby promoting competition,

Action 15. Consumer education, including the Young Consumer Competition subject to an independent enquiry into its take-up and cost-effectiveness and the development of on-line interactive consumer education tools on consumer rights in the internal market and on cross-border transactions, particularly in the new Member States or in cooperation with their organisations.

Over 300,000 reporting entities are currently required to collect specified information and to maintain detailed records on their clients' identities and transactions, which are not needed for their own business purposes, all the while making speculative assessments based on their customers' transactions.