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American Express is to launch a ’euro’ travellers cheque in January

next year.

The company believes that it will be the world’s first payment device

using the soon-to-be-introduced euro currency.

The firm is confident that the new cheques will prove to be popular

because travellers to any of the 11 European Union member states signed

up to the first wave of monetary integration will only need a single

type of travellers cheque.

The cheques will be issued in denominations of 50, 100 and 200

euros.

The design features the American Express blue-box logo alongside a world

map and tri-lingual instructions.

John A Ward, president of the Travellers Cheque Group, said: ’We foresee

it (the new cheque) becoming one of the biggest volume travellers

cheques in the world, because it eliminates the need to carry multiple

euro-zone currencies.’

European Monetary Union begins on January 1 1999. At that moment, the

currency exchange rates of the participating member countries (which

excludes the UK, Denmark, Sweden, and Greece) will be directly fixed to

that of the euro. Euro notes and coins will then be brought into

circulation in January 2002, replacing the existing national

currencies.

After June 30 2002, the euro will be the only legal currency in

participating member countries. It remains uncertain when or if the UK

will sign up.