Euro cash

Many banks in non-EMU countries have begun to offer their customers euro accounts - but do you need one? Probably not.

If you travel to the eurozone, just change your money for the local currency as usual

Unless you travel across Europe a lot, or have large sums of money that you want to protect against currency fluctuations, you will not need a euro account.

If you occasionally travel to the eurozone, just go to your bank and buy bank notes for the country of your destination, as euro cash will not be introduced before January 2002. An alternative are the new euro travellers cheques, which will be accepted all across Euroland.

Using the euro

Only a few countries have direct borders with the eurozone, therefore not many have the chance to do some border hopping for a quick shopping trip in Euroland.

Online shopping, however, will give you access to a whole raft of retailers across the eurozone, and savvy Online retailers will price their goods in euros, which will allow you to compare prices. Bear in mind that your payments will be subject to exchange rate fluctuations as you live in a country outside the eurozone and you may be liable to pay import duties.

Retailers displaying this logo have signed a code of conduct on euro pricing

If you travel to Euroland in 1999, you will be using the euro, even though the old national bank notes and coins are still in circulation. The reason is that all exchange rates within the eurozone are "irrevocably fixed". There will be a fixed amount of escudos or guilders to the euro - just as there are 100 cents to the dollar.

Diners may notice dual pricing in restaurants

One thing you will notice in Euroland is dual pricing. Some shops, restaurants and banks in the eurozone have already begun to display prices in both the national currency and in euros. More and more will join during the next couple of years, so if you travel across the eurozone, you will be able to directly compare price levels in all EMU countries.

New competition

Many economists predict that the introduction of the single currency will make companies in the eurozone more competitive, and this can affect you directly.

If leaner and meaner companies from the eurozone enter your home market, competition will heat up, and shops and manufacturers are bound to get burned.

And if the business you work for exports to the eurozone it may lose market share, because it will find it more difficult to compete with companies that no longer have to worry about currency transaction costs.

In both scenarios your company could be put out of business - and you out of a job.

Currency fluctuations

A weak euro would mean Euroland is there for the taking

If the euro is weak, Euroland is yours for the taking. If the euro is strong compared to the currency of your country, than shopping in most European countries will be quite expensive for you.

But which way will the euro go? Financial experts are divided on the issue. While most of them predict that the euro will be stable and strong, others suggest that economic tensions between Euroland's regions could bring the euro down. Nobody has ever tried a venture like EMU before, so only time will tell who is right.

However, you should bear in mind that many currencies were buffeted during the financial crisis of 1998 - with the exception of the currencies merging into EMU.

Shareholders

Pricing in euros will make it easier to compare share prices

If you own shares listed on stock markets in the European Union, they will be priced in euros. The size of your share in the company will not change, but pricing in euros will make it easier for you to compare buying opportunities across Western Europe.