Europe “urgently” needs to reduce its reliance on US payment companies such as Visa and Mastercard, the head of a banking alliance has told Reuters FT. Other sources warn that US market dominance could be used as a weapon if transatlantic relations deteriorate.
“We are highly dependent on international payments solutions,” said Martina Weimert, CEO of the European Payments Initiative (EPI), a consortium of 16 European banks and financial services companies. “Yes, we have good national assets like local payment card schemes… but we don’t have anything cross-border. If we are saying that independence is so important, and we all know it is a matter of time… we need urgent action,” she added.
According to the European Central Bank (ECB), Visa and Mastercard handled almost two-thirds of card transactions in the Eurozone in 2022, with 13 member states lacking a national alternative to US providers. Even where local schemes exist, their use is declining.
As the use of cash declines, European officials are increasingly concerned that the power of US payments companies could be used for pressure in the event of a serious breakdown in relations. This is one of several critical areas where Europeans fear the bloc has become too dependent on American companies. Belgium’s cybersecurity chief recently warned that Europe has “lost the internet” due to the dominance of American tech giants.
“Deep integration has created dependencies that can be abused when not all partners are allies,” Mario Draghi, a former ECB president, warned in a recent speech. “What was once considered a source of mutual restraint has become a source of levers of influence and control.”
EPI, whose members include BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank, launched in 2024 a European alternative to Apple Pay called Challenge. The digital payments scheme already claims 48.5 million users in Belgium, France and Germany, with plans to expand to online and in-store payments by 2027.
Weimert noted that banks and traders are largely aware of the need to build a cross-border European network, but the “geopolitical context” has made the topic a priority.
The ECB pointed out that past private sector initiatives have shown difficulties in scaling up, with a spokesman citing “the struggle of actors to agree on common standards”. The central bank promotes the digital euro – a public initiative for digital payments in the Eurozone, aiming to strengthen the bloc’s monetary sovereignty.
Piero Cipollone, a member of the ECB’s executive board, emphasized its importance: “As European citizens, we want to avoid a situation where Europe is overly dependent on payment systems that are not in our hands.”
But the project has divided politicians, with some lenders lobbying against it, saying it would undermine private sector efforts. The vote in the European Parliament later this year is likely to be contested to the last minute. Eurozone merchants will have to accept digital euros in shops and online by 2029.
However, Weimert warned that if geopolitical tensions worsen, the digital euro could be delayed. “The problem is that it will appear in a few years, maybe after the end of Donald Trump’s term. I think we are running out of time,” she added.
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date:2026-02-10 22:09:00