Europe is building its own payment network to finally compete with Visa and Mastercard

The European Network for Payments (ENP) is a newly formed joint venture aimed at securing Europe's independence in the payments industry. This initiative seeks to enhance interoperability among competing networks, thereby creating a unified EU infrastructure that poses a significant challenge to US-based giants like Visa and Mastercard.

Launched in 2023, ENP is the brainchild of various European payment networks including Bizum (Spain), Bancomat (Italy), Wero (a digital wallet company), SIBS-MB WAY, and Vipps MobilePay. These networks already cater to the payment needs of 130 million users across 13 European countries, accounting for 70% of the population.

ENP's primary objective is not to create a brand new network but to foster stronger partnerships among the existing ones. The organization will focus on establishing a common technical and operational infrastructure, adhering to European standards. This common infrastructure will be implemented in a phased manner, beginning with cross-border payments and in-person transactions. Over time, ENP aims to extend its services to e-commerce, online payments, in-store point-of-sale transactions, and other forms of payment.

The European Payments Initiative's CEO, Martina Weimert, highlighted that a lack of cohesion has hindered the creation of a unified payment platform in Europe. ENP offers a cooperative approach to this challenge, inviting other EU-based payment organizations to join forces.

Furthermore, the European Central Bank is also developing its own solution, the digital euro currency. In the future, this bank-controlled euro wallet could potentially complement ENP as another payment platform for European citizens.