European Payments Union

The European Payments Union (EPU) was an international organization existing between July 1950 and December 1958, when it was replaced by the European Monetary Agreement.

After the end of World War II, the economic depression affected all of Europe. Of all the great non-neutral powers, only the GDP of the United Kingdom had not declined because of the war, Germany was at the level of 1908 and France at its level of 1891. Trade was based on dollar reserves only currency accepted as a reserve), which was scarce in Europe. Therefore, the transfer of money (immediately after each transaction) increased the costs of trade, which in some cases was reduced to barter. The situation led the European Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECE) to create the European Union of Payments (EPU), whose agreement was signed by all its members in Paris on July 7, 1950. The UPR counted all the transactions, which were liquidated, initially every two months, which then became monthly. This shifted the landscape from bilateral needs operations to multilateral trade. The UPR also forced liberalization, eliminating discriminatory trade measures. The UPR was a general success doubling the levels of trade during its duration.

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