PaymentsJournal
SUBSCRIBE
  • Analysts Coverage
  • Truth In Data
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Industry Opinions
  • News
  • Resources
No Result
View All Result
PaymentsJournal
  • Analysts Coverage
  • Truth In Data
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Industry Opinions
  • News
  • Resources
No Result
View All Result
PaymentsJournal
No Result
View All Result

Europe’s Plans for a Card Network of Its Own

Sarah Grotta by Sarah Grotta
September 21, 2020
in Analysts Coverage, Banking, Compliance and Regulation, Cross-border Payments, Debit, Faster Payments
0
Europe’s Plans for a Card Network of Its Own

Europe’s Plans for a Card Network of Its Own

0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedIn

Years ago, the European Central Bank began to push the market to develop a payment network to rival the U.S.-based card networks. The Europeans want this for control and, I suspect, a bit of regional pride. While the central bank has been chasing this dream for a while, it has yet to materialize.

A recent article in Forbes details the reasons why an alternative payment network has yet to arrive, including:

“…economies of scale, competition authorities’ pressure on interchange means and finally, and most importantly, the people who run banks couldn’t care less about it.”

But, the world has changed and the recent attempts may succeed thanks to the pandemic, according to this article:

EPI (European Payments Initiative) is the latest European attempt to build a scale rival to Visa and Mastercard (and perhaps, in the future, WeChat and Alipay). They’ve tried before and it’s gone nowhere. This time it might work because the pandemic will accelerate the transition to contact-free, in-app, omni-channel payments.

Originally backed by twenty French and German banks, the idea was that EPI would build a unified pan-European payment system, offering a card for consumers and merchants across Europe, a digital wallet and P2P payments. The banks backing the project (BBVA, BNP Paribas, Groupe BPCE, CaixaBank, Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel, Deutsche Bank, Deutcher Sparkassen- und Giroverband, DZ BANK Group, ING, KBC Group, La Banque Postale, Banco Santander SAN, Société Générale, UniCredit) are all serious players and can put muscle behind the initiative so unlike so previous attempt at a third scheme, this one has legs.

The unified real-time payments network in Europe may, in fact, provide the infrastructure to support a new way to pay, but the same hurdles still exist: a new network’s supporters will need to build scale, a lack of revenue opportunity is a real distractor, and I am not sure the market really cares yet.

Overview by Sarah Grotta, Director, Debit and Alternative Products Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group

Tags: Card networksMasterCardVisa
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedIn

    Analyst Coverage, Payments Data, and News Delivered Daily

    Sign up for the PaymentsJournal Newsletter to get exclusive insight and data from Mercator Advisory Group analysts and industry professionals.

    Must Reads

    scams

    As Scams Become Omnipresent, New Tools Can Help FIs Fight Back

    March 30, 2023
    item clearing

    As Check Volumes Decrease, Financial Institutions Need to Consider Alternative Clearing Options

    March 29, 2023
    payments friction

    Too Much Payments Friction Can Lead to Customer Chafing

    March 28, 2023
    online fraud

    Understanding the Cost of Online Fraud and How to Prevent It

    March 27, 2023
    live shopping, ebay

    Q&A: eBay Exec on Live Shopping and the Future of Payments

    March 24, 2023
    AI and Biometrics in Regulatory Compliance in Finance

    The Importance of AI and Biometrics in Regulatory Compliance in Finance

    March 23, 2023
    Everyone Benefits from the Real-Time Payment Networks  

    Everyone Benefits from the Real-Time Payment Networks  

    March 22, 2023
    commercial payments

    Optimizing Commercial Payments in the Digital Age

    March 21, 2023

    Linkedin-in Twitter

    Advertise With Us | About Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Subscribe
    ©2023 PaymentsJournal.com

    • Analysts Coverage
    • Truth In Data
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    Menu
    • Analysts Coverage
    • Truth In Data
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Industry Opinions
    • Recent News
    • Resources
    Menu
    • Industry Opinions
    • Recent News
    • Resources
    • Analysts Coverage
    • Truth In Data
    • Podcasts
    • Industry Opinions
    • Faster Payments
    • News
    • Jobs
    • Events
    No Result
    View All Result

      Register to download the Ekata eBook