The plans for a European payment system are becoming more concrete. At the beginning of 2024 there should be an app, the first step towards a “digital wallet”.
In December 2020, the “European Payments Initiative” (EPI) started to counter the established US market leaders Visa and Mastercard as well as PayPal with their own European payment system.
The new system is scheduled to start at the beginning of next year. In a first step, an app will be offered that enables mobile phone to mobile phone payments in Germany, France and Belgium, EPI announced. Other European countries will be added later.
In further steps, the system should cover further payment functions. It should be possible to pay in online shops by the end of 2024, and in the following year also for stationary purchases.
“Digital wallet solution”
“EPI’s offering will consist of a digital wallet solution covering all day-to-day payment applications that rely on instant payments under a single European-level brand,” according to the initiative.
The European Payments Initiative, based in Brussels, is an association of currently 16 European financial service providers, including Deutsche Bank and the savings banks. The Dutch banks ABN Amro and Rabobank have just announced their accession. With the support of the European Central Bank and the European Commission, the EPI wants to “ensure Europe’s independence in payment transactions”. Payment transactions could possibly also become more cost-effective as a result.