I would also say that my experience also suggests that US primacy in world banking contributes to it too. If someone wires money from Colombia to the US, the price is not expensive, but Colombia to Indonesia is ($100 USD per wire? WTF?).
Also wiring ringgits from Indonesia (national currency is the Rupiah) to Malaysia (Ringgit) requires conversion into dollars and then wiring through New York. Some work on local banking connections would go a long way. That's probably one thing the Eurozone was intended to do for Europe. I am not sure you need a multinational every day currency though so much as an international reserve currency for the region....
I would also say that my experience also suggests that US primacy in world banking contributes to it too. If someone wires money from Colombia to the US, the price is not expensive, but Colombia to Indonesia is ($100 USD per wire? WTF?).
Also wiring ringgits from Indonesia (national currency is the Rupiah) to Malaysia (Ringgit) requires conversion into dollars and then wiring through New York. Some work on local banking connections would go a long way. That's probably one thing the Eurozone was intended to do for Europe. I am not sure you need a multinational every day currency though so much as an international reserve currency for the region....