Large EU Banks Will Launch a Pan-European Payment System
By Marko Vidrih on The Capital
Sixteen major banks in the European Union will implement a pan-European payment system that will become an alternative to the giants Visa and Mastercard, as well as reduce the threat from Chinese and American BigTech companies.
The aim of the European Payment Initiative (EPI) is to create a single pan-European payment system that will offer consumers and trade and service enterprises in Europe their own payment card, digital wallet and P2P payment service.
Project supporting banks — BBVA, BNP Paribas, Groupe BPCE, CaixaBank, Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel, Deutsche Bank, Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband, DZ BANK Group, ING, KBC Group, La Banque Postale, Banco Santander Généra Socét UniCredit — have already received full support from the European Central Bank. According to Finextra, the ECB has long, but unsuccessfully, hatched the idea of a pan-European cross-border payment system that can challenge global brands.
It is expected that the project will enter the implementation phase in the coming weeks. To do this, a temporary structure will be created in Brussels that will determine the specific objectives of the project, including the completion of the technical work plan and commissioning. Each bank will evaluate the performance of the interim structure before the final form of this organization is approved under the EPI.
Other payment service providers may join the initiative by the end of 2020. It is planned that the EPI will be launched in 2022.
Earlier we wrote that seven European mobile payment companies, which serve about 25 million users, plan to create the European Association of Mobile Payment Systems (EMPSA). This organization will facilitate cooperation and simplify international payments.
EMPSA’s work will be aimed at satisfying the desire of users to use their local mobile payment system at the international level and pay with them abroad.
Author: Marko Vidrih
Featured image credit: Unsplash
