European payments groups join forces to challenge US dominance
3 hours ago
- European payment groups like Spain's Bizum, Italy's Bancomat, and Wero are forming a joint venture called the European Network for Payments (ENP) to reduce reliance on Visa and Mastercard.
- ENP will connect national payment systems across 13 European countries, serving around 130 million users, covering over 70% of the EU and Norway's population.
- The new network uses a common technical layer based on European standards for instant account-to-account payments, starting with cross-border person-to-person transfers.
- European Central Bank's planned digital euro by 2029 could complement this project, operated by private companies with ECB backing.
- Fragmentation has been a major hurdle, and ENP aims to unify existing systems rather than replace them, but success depends on regulations, merchant acceptance, and political support.