Martin Weimert, the Executive Director of the European Payments Initiative (EPI), noted that despite having strong national systems, Europe still lacks a truly cross-border payment solution.
“While we have national payment cards, we do not have a full-fledged cross-border system. If we are striving for strategic independence, we should act without delay,” she added.
According to statistics from the European Central Bank, in 2022, nearly two-thirds of all card transactions in the eurozone were conducted through Visa and Mastercard.
At the same time, 13 EU countries lack national alternatives to American payment service providers.
Even in those countries where such systems exist, their usage is gradually declining.
Given the decrease in cash transactions, European regulators are beginning to express concerns that the influence of American payment systems in the event of a serious political conflict could pose a threat to the financial stability of the EU.
It should be noted that the European Payments Initiative was founded by a consortium of 16 European banks and financial institutions with the aim of creating a unified cashless payment system capable of competing with international players.
