European payments groups join forces to lessen US reliance
· CNA · JoinRead a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
MADRID/PARIS/MILAN, Sept 30 : European domestic payment groups serving 130 million people, including Spain's Bizum, Italy's Bancomat and Wero, said on Wednesday they were combining forces to form a joint company to oversee cross-border payments.
Europe has been trying to curb its dependence on Visa and Mastercard, over fears the Trump administration could limit access to the US payments infrastructure. The two US giants now handle almost two-thirds of the bloc's card payments.
While the European Central Bank aims to introduce a digital euro by 2029, essentially an online wallet guaranteed by the ECB but operated by private companies including banks, national payment systems are focused on interlinking their own networks.
The new European Network for Payments (ENP) will be based in Madrid and operate a common interoperability hub, joining up the different payment systems, the firms said in a statement.
CNA Games
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less
European policymakers have made payments sovereignty a priority as a fragmenting global order raises risks over access to payments systems and new forms of money challenge the euro.
ENP's founders are Bancomat, Bizum, EPI Company/Wero, SIBS-MB WAY and Vipps MobilePay, which together serve around 130 million users across 13 European countries, representing more than 70 per cent of the population of the EU and Norway.
The network would connect existing payment systems through a common technical and operational layer based on European standards and instant account-to-account payments, they said.
Other European payment schemes could join in the future, they said, adding that a phased rollout will begin with cross-border person-to-person payments, followed by e-commerce and point-of-sale transactions.
Newsletter
Week in Review
Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review
Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.
Sign up for our newsletters
Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app