Europe’s $24 Trillion Push for Payment Sovereignty

Europe’s $24 Trillion Push for Payment Sovereignty

Europe is quietly waging a war for control over its $24 trillion payments market—a market currently dominated by Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Alipay. European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde recently emphasized the need for Europe to develop its own digital payment infrastructure, warning that nearly all European card and mobile transactions rely on non-European networks. Source

Europe vs Visa & Mastercard: The $24 Trillion Payments Shift

What’s happening? ECB President Christine Lagarde told Irish radio that Europe needs its own digital payment system “urgently,” warning that virtually all European card and mobile payments currently run through non-European infrastructure controlled by Visa, Mastercard, PayPal or Alipay. Days later, on 2 February, the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and the EuroPA Alliance signed a landmark agreement to build a pan-European interoperable paym…