Cross-border payments within the euro area are “made in Europe” only when citizens use cash. When cross-border payments in the area of the euro go digital, that is when citizens use electronic means of payment such as credit cards, APPs or wallets, it’s all “made in the USA”. Is it true that the cross-border payment systems in the euro area are non-European, as if we are driving in Europe on roads totally owned by American providers?
Yes. The cross-border digital payments in the euro area at the moment are non-European. The digital payment solutions that euro area citizens can use both for e-commerce and in shops across Europe are indeed offered by non-European providers. And it goes even further than that. Local digital payment solutions in Europe have limits too: in some countries, local digital payment solutions work well for e-commerce but not in shops, at the Point of Sale (PoS).
This is a huge weakness in an important infrastructure, especially as we are entering a sort of Cold war on digital payments with USA and China on the frontline. Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple pay, Google pay, Pay-pal dominate cross-border payments in Europe. On the top, in how many euro area countries national digital payment solutions are inefficient?
