In a bold move to reclaim control of Europe’s payment infrastructure, the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and the European Payments Alliance (EuroPA) have announced a strategic collaboration to create a seamless, unified payments experience across the continent. The partnership aims to counter the dominance of US card schemes and Big Tech in the EU payments space and to boost European sovereignty.
EPI, backed by leading banks, launched its Wero digital wallet last year to support instant account-to-account (A2A) payments, offering a powerful alternative to Visa and Mastercard. Meanwhile, EuroPA—a regional coalition including Italy’s Bancomat, Spain’s Bizum, and Portugal’s MB Way—has already enabled 50 million users to send and receive money instantly via mobile. Its membership has since grown to include Poland’s Blik, Greece’s Iris, and Nordic leader Vipps MobilePay.
The two alliances are now exploring a joint solution that would span person-to-person and commercial transactions across 15 countries, covering over 382 million people—84% of the EU population plus Norway. A feasibility study is expected to be completed by the end of the summer.
This integration would allow users to retain their local apps and preferred platforms while enabling cross-border operability, marking a major step toward digital payments independence in Europe. The initiative is also seen as a response to recent warnings from industry leaders like BNP Paribas COO Thierry Laborde, who emphasized that European payments sovereignty is now a necessity, not just a long-term vision.
By interconnecting trusted domestic systems, EuroPA and EPI believe they can fast-track the EU’s journey toward a robust, independent, and scalable payments ecosystem.