European Payment Groups Unite to Reduce US Dependence

Payment groups from across Europe, including Spain’s Bizum, Italy’s Bancomat and Brussels-based Wero, are joining forces to create a cross-border payments network serving around 130 million users. The initiative aims to reduce Europe’s reliance on major US-based payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard.

The new European Network for Payments (ENP) will be headquartered in Madrid and connect existing national payment systems through a shared technical and operational layer. The founding members cover 13 European countries, representing more than 70% of the population of the EU and Norway, with the system built around European standards and instant account-to-account payments.

ENP plans to begin with cross-border person-to-person payments before expanding into e-commerce and point-of-sale transactions. The initiative comes as European policymakers place greater emphasis on payments sovereignty, while the proposed digital euro could eventually complement the network.

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