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European Payments Initiative - EPI Company

Operating area	Single Euro Payments Area
Members	16 major European banks and acquirers
Founded	2020
Website	www.epicompany.eu

The European Payments Initiative (EPI), previously known as the Pan-European Payments System Initiative (PEPSI), is a European Central Bank-backed payment-integration initiative aiming to create a pan-European payment system and interbank network to rival Mastercard and Visa, and eventually replace national European payment schemes such as France's Carte Bancaire and Germany's Girocard.

It is supported by the European Commission, and currently comprises fourteen major European banks (including all the major French, German and Dutch banks ).

First attempt

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The idea of introducing a pan-European card scheme within the Single Euro Payments Area was born around 2008. In 2010, major European banks from more than ten countries met at the "Madrid Symposium" to discuss the initiative and make plans to take it forward. By 2011, the Monnet Project had developed detailed technical and business plans for the merger of national payment schemes. By then, it included 24 banks drawn from seven countries. However, the proponents of the new system did not believe they could develop a viable business model that did not include commercially viable interchange fees for the participating banks, a concern they raised with the European Commission. The commission was unwilling to allow any movement that could erode free competition, and therefore refused to endorse any system, even a new entrant, with interchange fees that exceeded the low level that the commission was seeking.

Commercial interests prevailing over a pan-European solution, and in the absence of a clear source of income for the issuing banks, progress on the project was put to a halt. It was dissolved in April 2012 due to "the perceived absence of a viable business model", according to the European Central Bank.

Partnerships

Visa Europe, the only payment system that broadly met the definition of a European card scheme, was acquired by Visa Inc. in June 2016.

In July 2020, a group of 16 major European banks from five countries (Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain) announced their support and development programs for the European Payments Initiative (EPI). These banks include: BBVA, BNP Paribas, Groupe BPCE, CaixaBank, Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel, Deutsche Bank, Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband, DZ Bank, ING, KBC Group, La Banque Postale, Banco Santander, Société Générale and UniCredit. In 2021 more than 30 banks were member, including Bancontact/Payconiq. In mid-2020 it was expected that the first real-world applications - a system for real-time payments between consumers - could be launched in early 2022, with a broader payments tool to follow in the second half of 2022.

In 2023, EPI announced new shareholders: 14 major European banks and 2 acquirers.

Infrastructure

As it is based on the SEPA instant credit transfer (SCT Inst) scheme, EPI's payment network can immediately capitalise on powerful and sophisticated existing infrastructures, such as the Eurosystem's TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS). The EPI will have a payment network, a wallet and an international instant payments scheme as a replacement for domestic solutions such as Swish, iDEAL, Bizum and Blik. NFC payments and QR code payment will be made available. The solution will be available through mobile banking integration, but also as a standalone app, and will contain currency conversion throughout the whole of Europe. The first country where this will be implemented is Belgium, France and Germany.

Nordic countries

Denmark, Sweden and Finland have been developing their own common payment system called P27 since 2017, with the intent to harmonise electronic payments across the Nordic countries. Discussion have been happening with EPI on how to collaborate.

Acquisition iDEAL & Payconiq

EPI Company has announced acquisition plans of iDEAL and Payconiq International, new shareholders and the upcoming launch of its instant payment solution. iDEAL is to become a European payment account-to-account (A2A) instant payment scheme and a multi-faceted digital wallet.

References

1. Keohane, David (9 June 2021). "Why Europe's banks want to end US dominance in payments". www.ft.com. Retrieved 23 June 2021. It got off to a rocky start last summer when US soft drinks group PepsiCo objected to its proposed name: The Pan-European Payment System Initiative, or, PEPSI.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
2. Arnold, Martin (26 November 2019). "ECB explores development of a digital currency". Financial Times. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
3. Evans, David S. (1 October 2014). "How the Proposed Payments Legislation Will Restrain Competition Among Payment Card Schemes and Harm Consumers in the European Union". Social Science Research Network. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2503696. S2CID 167639084. SSRN 2503696.
4. "Card payments in Europe – current landscape and future prospects: a Eurosystem perspective". European Central Bank. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
5. "Major Eurozone banks start the implementation phase of the European Payments Initiative". thepaypers.com.
6. Dendooven, Pascal. "Europa zet aanval op MasterCard en Visa in". De Standaard (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
7. "Europe's largest banks plan joint attack on US payments giants". Financial Times. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
8. Bank, European Central (2 July 2020). "ECB welcomes initiative to launch new European payment solution" – via www.ecb.europa.eu. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
9. Ifrim, Oana (30 August 2021). "Exclusive interview with Martina Weimert, CEO of the EPI Interim Company". The Payers. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
10. "Dutch payment processor iDeal to become European standard | NL Times". nltimes.nl. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
11. "EPI Company announces iDEAL and Payconiq acquisition". thepaypers.com. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
12. Dumitrescu, Irina (25 April 2023). "[GLOBAL] EPI Company announces acquisitions, additional shareholders and the coming launch of its new instant payment solution". European Payments Initiative. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
13. agency, Acato Digital (25 April 2023). "iDEAL Becomes More Ideal". iDEAL. Retrieved 26 April 2023.

See also

• Euro Alliance of Payment Schemes, a previous failed European attempt to unify European payment systems

• European Union
• Economy

• Banking in Europe
• Banking in the European Union
• Credit card issuer associations
• Debit card issuer associations
• European Economic Area
• Eurozone
• Financial services in Europe
• Interbank networks
• Payment systems