European Union seeks to reduce dependence on US payment giants

The European Union is seeking to reduce its strategic dependence on American payment processors, specifically Visa and Mastercard. Currently, card payments account for 59% of cashless transactions in the EU, and approximately two-thirds of those card transactions in the eurozone are processed using rules established by non-European companies. Visa and Mastercard together control nearly 90% of the cross-border card market within the EU.

To increase market resilience and autonomy, the European Central Bank (ECB) is supporting the development of European alternatives. Key initiatives include Wero, a pan-European payment system developed by the European Payments Initiative, and the creation of a digital euro. These projects aim to provide a unified continental infrastructure to compete with foreign providers as e-commerce and mobile payments continue to grow.