Bluecode Recap: September 2019

September was all about EMPSA, the European Mobile Payment Systems Association, which is uniting 25 million mobile payment users, more than one million merchant acceptance points and more than 350 banks across Europe.

Story & Mission

The smartphone as a method of payment has been successfully introduced in several European countries, experiencing significant user and usage growth over the last years. Seven leading mobile payment providers combining 25 million users agreed to foster collaboration and international payment through an association, which was founded in Zurich, Switzerland.

EMPSA will cover Belgium (Bancontact Payconiq), Germany and Austria (Bluecode), Denmark and Finland (MobilePay), Portugal (SIBS/MB WAY), Sweden (Swish), Switzerland (TWINT) and Norway (VIPPS). More countries and mobile payment systems are expected to join the association over the next months.

The headquarters of the EMPSA is located in Zurich, Switzerland. The association is chaired by Søren Mose, Chairman of the Board of Directors of TWINT and vice-chaired by Anna-Lena Wretman, CEO Swish. Secretary General is Anton Stadelmann, Deputy CEO and CFO of TWINT.

“EMPSA is the key initiative for Europe to create its own standards and to build a competitive, interoperable European framework to win back lost terrain in the payments space.” — Bluecode CEO Christian Pirkner

The association aims to generally foster collaboration and to enable the use of the mobile payments systems internationally. More countries and mobile payment systems are expected to join the association over the next month — so stay tuned.

Bluecode is the pan-European mobile payment solution that enables cashless payments via Android smartphone, iPhone and Apple Watch combined with merchant driven value-added services in a vast number of apps. In accordance with European data protection standards, no personal data is stored or transmitted on the mobile phone during the payment process. The highly secure, TAN-based payment system works with all bank accounts and is independent of the transmission technology. The Bluecode technology can be embedded in any iOS or Android app. Renowned banks, acquirers, international banking software providers, and payment platforms, as well as leading retailers, support the Europe-wide rollout and integration into cash registers, vending machines, apps of banks and retailers as well as loyalty apps.

More information: www.bluecode.com