The European Card Payment Association (ECPA) is calling on EU regulators and stakeholders to take a decisive stance on payment sovereignty, as geopolitical tensions and increasing reliance on US-based platforms threaten Europe’s financial autonomy. In a newly released white paper, the ECPA highlighted that in 2024 alone, over 263 million European Card Scheme (ECS) cards were in use, facilitating 31.5 billion transactions.
Despite this robust domestic usage, the majority of euro area card payments—65%—are still processed by Visa and Mastercard, while US tech giants like Apple, Google, and PayPal continue gaining ground in the payments landscape. The ECPA argues that to safeguard Europe’s strategic independence, the EU must ensure that at least one EU-based payment method is available to consumers and businesses at all times.
Their proposal includes the adoption of open European payment standards such as CPACE, stronger regulatory support for ECSs, and frameworks that promote infrastructure sharing and cross-border interoperability.
The paper’s release echoes broader EU concerns about digital sovereignty, especially in light of Christine Lagarde’s recent call for “a march towards independence” in payment systems. The European Payments Initiative has also urged domestic digital payment networks to collaborate on shared merchant acceptance and cross-border functionality.
Responding to this call, Giesecke & Devrient announced a new multi-application card—part of the Stella initiative—that connects with over 300 million domestic ECS cards and works across multiple EU markets. While it retains compatibility with Visa and Mastercard, that functionality is only activated “where necessary,” reinforcing the push for European-first solutions.
ECPA chairman Juan Carlos Martín stressed, “Control over payment infrastructure is inseparable from true economic sovereignty. Financial and regulatory institutions must prioritise collaboration that secures Europe’s independent payments future.”