The banking sector has spent about HUF 30-40 billion and hundreds of thousands of working hours on the transition, he said. It has been the largest joint development of the sector for a common purpose for years.
Up till now, all banks have sent payment orders to Giro Zrt., which sorted and then forwarded them. There will be no sorting in the new system. Cash usage is expected to decline, and within a year or two most customers will be paying by wire transfer, for example at the vegetable market, Kovács said.
He also noted that the economic whitening effect of the new system could generate up to HUF 400 bln-HUF 500 bln a year in tax revenues.
