The European Central Bank (ECB) has relaunched its retail payments strategy. It has put dislodging the card schemes at the heart of the policy. It plans to “actively foster pan-European market initiatives for retail payments at the location of the purchase or interaction.” ECB Governing Council member, Benoit Cœuré, wants European banks to use the SEPA instant payment scheme to facilitate instant, secure and inexpensive payments online and in bricks and mortar stores.
Mr Cœuré lamented the absence of a European solution for point-of-sale and online payments. The fact that ten European countries have national card schemes that do not accept cards from other EU countries is not acceptable to him. However, twenty European Banks are plotting to fill the gap. The so-called Pan-European Payment System Initiative – or PEPSI – is trying to create an alternative to Visa and Mastercard.
For the initiative to get the ECB’s seal of approval Mr Cœuré wants PEPSI to offer the following: Pan-European reach; be convenient and cost-efficient; safe and secure – it should have the highest levels of fraud protection and provide consumer protection with robust complaint and refund procedures common brand and logos; and, finally, global acceptance. Mr Cœuré wants to see a clear roadmap on the future of PEPSI. If Visa and Mastercard are the real thing, will PEPSI be the choice of a new generation of Europeans?
Read more: Benoit Coeure (ECB), Towards the retail payments of tomorrow: a European strategy: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2019/html/ecb.sp191126~5230672c11.en.html
The Lord Meyricks 