The euro has been successfully launched in a fanfare of publicity, and greatly relieved Brussels bureaucrats have been indulging in much mutual backslapping. But in the acres of print that have heralded its historic introduction, there appears to have been precious little written about the euro's impact on e-businesses.
Most of the coverage has tended to concentrate almost exclusively on how traditional high street retailers are coping with the changeover. So, to correct the perceived bricks and mortar bias, it is worth investigating what e-business directors think about the introduction of the euro.
And the key question is whether a single currency could actually help to push more shopping carts through their online tills.
Navneet Bali, chief financial officer for the online travel agency eBookers, is adamant that the euro is good news for e-businesses of all sizes.
"It makes things simpler in terms of processing transactions," he says. "When you compare hotel and airline rates, it's much simpler. There is going to be much more price transparency."
Despite his enthusiasm, he admits it was tough getting the technology systems in a condition to accept euros.
"There were technology glitches. There were tempers flaring as the deadline neared, but we got it done."
The euro is generally expected to expose price differences across Europe and intensify competition.
TV news bulletins have been full of pictures of eager French bargain hunters heading over the border into Germany to snap up bargains. But not everyone lives near the borders.
Which is why such companies as eBookers believe websites could enjoy unique advantages. "The internet allows people to display information across physical borders," argues Bali. EBookers is anticipating that the euro will especially boost online air travel in countries such as France and Germany where booking online in euros is already growing.
Other e-businesses such as Firebox, which sells computer games, videos and gadgets, are taking a more cautious approach.
"We're trying to work out the relevance it has to us," says the chief executive, Michael Smith. "We're planning to convert all our prices into euros so people from Europe, when they are browsing the site, get an instant currency conversion."
To do this, Smith intends to take a live currency converter feed from another site such Xe.com . He is also planning to consult his continental suppliers about their recommendations before doing anything rash.
One of the main advantages e-businesses have is that the majority of online purchases are carried out through credit cards, and unlike their bricks-and- mortar counterparts, sites do not have to handle euro notes or coins.
This greatly simplifies the changeover process. However, Smith realises that if customers from continental Europe want to start paying directly in euros with cheques or from euro bank accounts, then the company will have to review its payment systems.
Firebox anticipates that there will be more price competition across the web as a result of the euro's introduction, particularly when it comes to popular mainstream products such as Harry Potter merchandise or CDs of chart-topping bands.
If price-cutting spreads, he points out that e-businesses of all sizes will have an advantage over traditional shops because they can change prices more quickly.
They don't have to worry about time-consuming things such as changing point-of-sale material or physical labels. Online B2B (business to business) marketplaces, where companies can find new suppliers and source products online, have been quick to welcome the euro.
"It makes it easier for people to compare suppliers in different countries. One of the dreams we have is to create a pan-European marketplace," says Rouzbeh Piroux, chief executive of mondus, the European B2B marketplace for small to medium sized enterprises, which has sites in Germany, France and Italy.
"That is facilitated enormously by the clarity and the simplicity you get from the euro. It makes the notion of hooking upbuyers and suppliers in different countries a much more realistic one."
Online betting sites such as Sportingbet argue that the euro is opening up new markets because previously the banks would not accept credit card payments from all countries. "All the banks are offering the euro for credit card processing.
Previously some banking suppliers would not support the full range of currencies. They were being selective because of the risks of certain currency weaknesses," says Mark Blandford, executive vice chairman of Sportingbet. The much-hyped intro duction of a single European currency can easily mask the fact that the continent is still riddled with myriad different local regulations, which can impact upon e-businesses.
While eBookers can see advantages in processing and highlighting price differences on a single screen, they have not been able to strike as many pan-European deals with airlines, which would make life easier for them. Instead, in most cases they have to laboriously negotiate with suppliers in individual countries.
Fulfilment of orders is also still an issue, euro or no euro. Consumers in Europe might be able to see that a fridge is cheaper in one country, but it will not be economical to transport such items over large distances.
The price savings would probably be wiped out. There are also many goods that cannot be sold across borders in Europe unless they conform to strict regulations. And there are language issues too, particularly if there is a complaint and products need to be returned.
The fact that the UK is still officially outside the euro has led to many e-businesses - including Amazon - not accepting euro payments on their UK sites in the short term. They want to see if public demand grows, and this is another factor working against harmonisation of web transactions across Europe.
Some e-business directors argue optimistically that the internet could be a catalyst for driving further consolidation in Europe to make cross-border trading easier. But that clearly is not going to happen overnight.
In the meantime, a single currency is largely seen as a way of making online shopping more convenient. And that is the main reason why websites are now saying yes to the euro.
