Cautious welcome to Europe's new money (From Warrington Guardian)

Cautious welcome to Europe's new money

IT might have made waves in The City, but the Euro has failed to completely capture the imagination of Mid Cheshire's business community.

Stuart Wigley, from North and Mid Cheshire Chamber of Commerce, said few firms had expressed any kind of opinion about the Euro.

"We've actually had no feedback, either positive or negative but we will be monitoring the situation," he said.

The chamber organised a seminar about the Euro last year but attendance was disappointing.

"I think the major companies have the systems and the back up in place and will already have made plans," added Mr Wigley.

"I suspect that the effects of the Euro will slowly filter through. It depends on the strength of the currency and which one companies decide to trade in."

The message is similar from Business Link Vale Royal.

The link's chief executive, Lisa Pritchard, said her staff were trying to emphasise the opportunities presented by the Euro - but stressed change wouldn't happen overnight.

"A lot of small businesses are talking to their banks at the moment about opening a Euro account which will enable them to compete on a level playing field," she said.

"I think the banks have been very forward thinking and have advertised the opportunity to have a Euro account.

"The situation is similar to decimalisation and the change from using pounds, shillings and pence.

"The Euro is not a threat, it's an opportunity, an enormous opportunity."

That message was backed up by Barclays Bank who reported plenty of interest in Euro accounts from major companies.

"There has been limited interest in personal accounts because the notes and coins won't be issued until 2002," said a spokesman.

"But there has been significant interest from limited companies and a lot of accounts have been opened."

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.