European payment groups serving 130 million people, including Spain‘s Bizum, Italy‘s Bancomat and Brussels-based Wero, said on Wednesday they were joining forces to create a cross-border payments network as Europe seeks to curb its dependence on Visa, and Mastercard.
The companies will form a new joint venture, the European Network for Payments (ENP), which will be based in Madrid and connect national payment systems.
European policymakers have made payments sovereignty a priority as a fragmenting global order raises concerns over access to critical payments systems.
ENP’s founders are Bancomat, Bizum, EPI Company/Wero, SIBS-MB WAY and Vipps MobilePay, which together serve around 130 million users across 13 European countries, covering more than 70% of the population of the EU and Norway.
The network will connect existing payment systems through a common technical and operational layer based on European standards and instant account-to-account payments.
The payments group said European Central Bank plans for a digital euro by 2029, essentially an online wallet guaranteed by the ECB but operated by private companies including banks, could eventually complement their project.