Europe’s leading domestic mobile payment platforms and the European Payments Initiative (EPI) have taken a major step toward realizing a unified, sovereign pan‑European payments ecosystem that promises seamless cross‑border payments for consumers and merchants.
Bancomat (Italy), Bizum (Spain), SIBS‑MB WAY (Portugal), and Vipps MobilePay (Nordic region) — all members of the EuroPA Alliance — together with EPI Company, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate the rollout of sovereign, pan‑European payment solutions, marking another decisive advance in Europe’s efforts to reduce reliance on non‑European payment networks and strengthen regional payment autonomy.
The MoU formalizes the transition from feasibility studies to implementation, setting the stage for a phased launch of interoperable cross‑border payments. At launch, the initiative is expected to extend across 13 European markets, covering roughly 72 % of the EU’s population plus Norway, and serving approximately 130 million combined users through the interconnected networks of the participating payment solutions.
This cooperation builds on earlier interoperability efforts. Since March 2025, users of Bancomat, Bizum and MB WAY/SIBS have been able to send and receive instant payments across borders in Andorra, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The expanded alliance now integrates Vipps MobilePay from Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden and is open to adding other European countries, including non‑euro markets.
Under the new setup, consumers will be able to continue using their preferred national mobile payment apps while enjoying extended reach across Europe. Merchants, in turn, will gain the ability to accept payments from buyers using a wider set of European solutions, reducing dependency on global payment players and fostering competition and innovation in online and in‑store payment acceptance. A new shared brand indicator will help users identify where their payment solutions are accepted beyond national borders.
From a technical standpoint, the interoperability model is built around a central hub that connects existing national systems using European standards, including SEPA Instant payments, allowing transactions to flow seamlessly between wallets while preserving each solution’s user experience and features. The implementation roadmap states that peer‑to‑peer cross‑border payments should roll out in 2026, followed by e‑commerce and point‑of‑sale payment support in 2027.
This collaboration also aligns with broader discussions on European payment sovereignty. As outlined in our earlier analysis of how the EU can achieve sovereignty in payments, Europe continues to depend heavily on non‑European card networks and global intermediaries — a reliance that raises strategic and economic concerns. Expanding and standardizing payments across existing strong payment verticals is one of the potential ways out of this unhealthy dependence. Thus, initiatives like the EuroPA‑EPI partnership aim to leverage existing domestic strengths and infrastructure to create a resilient, locally governed payment ecosystem that can compete with international players and enhance resilience across the continent.
