Europe's Bold Plan to Take On Visa and Mastercard

Jessica Albright · 2026-10-01

Imagine paying for your morning coffee in Madrid using Spain's Bizum app, and the merchant in Lisbon accepts it as easily as if it were Portugal's own MB WAY. That's the future a coalition of European payment providers is trying to build with the European Network for Payments (ENP). It's a big idea: connect national payment systems into one seamless network that works across borders. ### What Exactly Is the ENP? The ENP is a new network designed to link up national payment systems so they can talk to each other. The goal is to create a common technical and operational layer that lets participating systems work together, especially for instant account-to-account payments. So, a customer in Spain could use Bizum to pay a merchant in Portugal who uses MB WAY. No need for international card networks in the middle. ### Who's Behind It? This isn't just a pipe dream. Several major payment providers are backing the venture, including: - Wero digital wallet - Italy's Bancomat - Vipps MobilePay, which operates across the Nordic countries Together, these providers serve about 130 million customers across 13 countries, reaching more than 70% of the EU. That's a huge chunk of the market. ### Why Challenge Visa and Mastercard? The ENP is part of a broader European effort to reduce reliance on U.S.-based payment rails. Right now, Mastercard and Visa process more than 60% of card transactions in Europe. In fact, 13 of the 21 eurozone member states rely exclusively on international card schemes. That's a lot of power concentrated in two companies. "Europeans have been chasing the thought of their own payment network since the first Payment Services Directive in 2007," said Brian Riley, Co-Head of Payments at Javelin Strategy & Research. "The objective is to create a network similar to Mastercard and Visa, but that is easier said than done. Sure, political boundaries are now unified, but as the European Central Bank knows, harmonizing financial institutions is awkward at best. Consumer and merchant behaviors also differ." ### A Slow Road Ahead The ENP grew out of a memorandum of understanding signed in February 2026, when participants announced plans to create a shared, interoperable entity. But the groundwork has been laid for a while. In March 2025, Bizum connected with Bancomat and MB WAY, enabling mobile transfers among more than 50 million people across Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Andorra. The rollout will start with cross-border peer-to-peer payments, then move to e-commerce and point-of-sale payments. No target dates have been announced, and expanding interoperability across multiple national systems could take time. "There is likely a decade before something is viable in the EU market," Riley said. "And by then, as payments constantly reinvent themselves, who can imagine what payments will look like." ### What This Means for Businesses For now, it's a waiting game. But if the ENP succeeds, it could offer businesses a cheaper, faster alternative to traditional card networks. It could also spur innovation in payments, giving merchants more options and potentially lowering fees. However, don't expect overnight change. Harmonizing systems across 13 countries with different languages, regulations, and consumer habits is a massive undertaking. Still, the direction is clear: Europe wants its own payment rails. And with 130 million customers already on board, the ENP has a fighting chance. Just don't hold your breath—this is a marathon, not a sprint.