Speakers
Objectives
Europe’s payments ecosystem is at a turning point. While digital payments are now the norm, persistent fragmentation, reliance on non-European infrastructures, and uneven user experiences undermine the Single Market. At the same time, regulatory reforms (PSD3/PSR, Instant Payments Regulation), the digital euro project, and private initiatives like EPI’s Wero wallet open opportunities to improve interoperability, resilience, and competitiveness. The challenge is to align public and private solutions, foster innovation while maintaining fair competition, and ensure that European payment options achieve scale and trust. Strategic autonomy in payments has become a policy imperative, yet success depends on economic viability, strong consumer adoption, and incentives across the value chain.This session will explore how to build a truly integrated European payments market that is inclusive, innovative, and sovereign.
Points of discussion
- What gaps remain in the EU Single Market for payments, and how can EU and national initiatives (digital euro, EPI, instant payments) be better aligned to deliver seamless cross-border services?
- How can Europe balance the need for open competition between banks, FinTechs, and BigTechs with its ambition to reduce reliance on non-European schemes and infrastructures?
- What incentives, safeguards, and features (e.g. offline usability, fair pricing, data protection) are essential to ensure the economic viability of European payment solutions and build consumer confidence in innovations such as the digital euro?