Published: November 24, 2020
A consortium of banks in Europe have agreed to launch the European Payments Initiative, which aims to create a unified payment system across the continent. The scheme received support from major regulatory bodies, but has been met with mixed reactions about whether it will make much difference to the region’s payments capabilities.
A group of 16 major European banks from five countries have started implementing the next phase of the European Payments Initiative (EPI).
The goal of the EPI is to create a unified pan-European payment solution that uses instant payments, instant credit transfer, a card for consumers and merchants that works across the continent, a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payments.
It has ambitious aims to become the new standard means of payment across Europe, taking on payments giants Mastercard and Visa, moving Europeans away from cash payments and towards a new card-based system.