Five European domestic payment networks have established a joint venture named European Network for Payments (Enp) to challenge the market dominance of American networks such as Mastercard and Visa. Headquartered in Madrid, the new company brings together Spain’s Bizum, the Franco-German Epi/Wero, Portugal’s Sibs, Scandinavia’s Vipps, and Italy’s Bancomat under equal ownership stakes.
Building a Roaming Network for European Payments
The newly formed European Network for Payments aims to function as a payment adapter rather than forcing the creation of an entirely new, unified consumer payment solution. Instead, the initiative connects existing national frameworks so they can communicate easily across borders. Fabrizio Burlando, CEO of Bancomat, described the project as a payment equivalent to cellular roaming, where users can travel across borders and use their domestic tools without changing devices or settings.
Under this interoperability model, a consumer will eventually be able to use an Italian Bancomat card at a point-of-sale terminal in Barcelona that processes payments through Bizum. Participating networks announced that users will be able to execute cross-border peer-to-peer transfers as well as transactions in physical and online retail shops, all while retaining their respective domestic brands, functionality, and user experiences.
Market Reach and Strategic Independence
The founding partners of Enp currently serve approximately 130 million users across 13 European countries, covering over 70% of the population of the European Union and Norway. Beyond the initial five founding networks, the corporate structure remains open for other domestic payment schemes to join and intends to expand into additional markets that currently lack a national alternative to American providers.
The overarching strategic goal is to provide a European alternative to Mastercard, Visa, American Express, and PayPal, thereby enhancing the continent’s financial sovereignty and independence.
Implementation Timeline and Cost Management
While the incorporation of Enp in Madrid marks a major structural milestone, substantial technical integration remains required before the system becomes fully operational for merchants and consumers. The shareholder networks have committed to funding the necessary investments to build and deploy the cross-border infrastructure.
To ensure widespread adoption, the participating networks plan to establish internal fee-sharing arrangements that prevent extra costs from being passed on to end-users. This mechanism is designed to incentivize the use of domestic payment schemes outside their home markets by preserving the cost efficiency that national networks typically offer to local merchants and consumers.
Keep reading