ISPs open portals to the euro

MultI-national customers of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will be able to get their online bills in the single European currency in real time before the end of this year, writes Lisa Kelly.

Portal Software, which provides real-time customer and management billing systems for ISPs, will support the euro by December.

Although the UK will not introduce euros on 1 January 1999, 11 other European countries will. Portal?s billing system means ISP customers can monitor their online costs in real-time through a browser. The alternative is to be billed at the end of a period ? which does not allow customers to manage their expenses as well.

Tom Bamber, senior European monetary union risk consultant at IT services company CMG, said real-time billing across the web in euros would be welcomed by multi-nationals keen to settle their bills efficiently.

?Doing it in real-time means that invoices are sent out immediately. It is a more efficient way of doing business,? he said.

Portal?s vice president for Europe, Ian Perry , said real-time billing in euros would allow ISPs to meet the anticipated growth in trade from customers wanting to expand further into Europe.

?The Internet is a global phenomenon and the euro will be a driving force for international markets and cross-boundary business. It is vital that systems support that?, he said.