Europe’s New Payments Network Could Route Around Visa and Mastercard — But It Is Not an EU-Created System
Europe has announced a plan to connect several home-grown payment services so people can pay across borders without relying on Visa or Mastercard for every transaction. The initiative is real, but the headline needs two corrections: it is a private-sector project, not a payment system created by the European Union, and its shared network is still being prepared for rollout. 1 2
On 30 September 2026, Bancomat, Bizum, EPI/Wero, SIBS–MB WAY and Vipps MobilePay announced the European Network for Payments (ENP). The partners say a new joint entity will operate a shared technical and operational layer, connecting their existing services while keeping their individual brands and apps. Its headquarters will be in Madrid, and the founding partners will own it equally. 1 2
What is being built?
The ENP is designed to make separate national payment services work across borders. Its planned infrastructure will connect payment networks that already have users in their home countries. The founders describe the common layer as based on European standards, including instant account-to-account (A2A) payments. 1
A2A means that a payment moves between bank accounts rather than being charged to a payment card. A customer could use a familiar mobile payment app to send money to someone abroad or, as merchant services expand, pay at an online checkout or in a shop. For a transaction routed this way, the payment does not need to travel over a Visa or Mastercard card scheme. That is a narrower claim than saying Europe has eliminated all payment processing: banks, payment providers, clearing arrangements and settlement systems still have roles in the payment chain. 1 6 12
The distinction matters because “payments” cover several layers. A wallet is the interface a person uses. A card scheme sets rules and routes card transactions. Banks and payment providers initiate or receive payments, while separate systems clear and settle them. The European Central Bank describes these as distinct parts of an instant-payment system. ENP aims to connect existing services and rails, not make every other layer disappear. 6
Wero is one member, not the whole network
Wero is a product of the European Payments Initiative (EPI), a company backed by European banks and payment providers. EPI is not an EU institution, and Wero is not the same project as the European Central Bank’s work on instant payments. The EU has enacted rules to make instant euro bank transfers more widely available; private firms are building customer-facing services and the ENP connection. 4 7 8
The underlying bank-transfer infrastructure is not new. The European Payments Council’s SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme has operated since 2017. It is designed to make funds available in under ten seconds, around the clock. EU rules adopted in 2024 require payment service providers to offer instant euro transfers on a phased schedule and prevent them from charging more than for comparable ordinary transfers. Those rules support instant payments generally; they did not create Wero or ENP. 4 5
Wero already has selected services in several markets, but availability varies by country and use case. In a September 2026 update, EPI reported more than 48,000 merchants across five markets had processed Wero payments online and in physical stores. The same update described selected in-store QR use in Belgium and broader retail rollouts that were still progressing. These are Wero’s own figures and should not be confused with the ENP’s planned cross-border network. 3
What the announcement does—and does not—promise
The founding networks say they already serve about 130 million users across 13 European countries, representing more than 70% of the population of the EU and Norway. This is the combined reach of the participating services, not a count of people already making payments through one live, unified network. 1 2
The planned rollout starts with cross-border person-to-person payments. E-commerce and point-of-sale payments are planned for later phases. The partners say technical implementation of the target setup is still under preparation. So the announcement is about building interoperability and expanding over time—not about switching off card networks or instantly making every local app work in every European shop. 1
Nor does “bypass Visa or Mastercard” mean “bypass every intermediary.” An A2A payment can avoid a card-scheme route, but it still depends on participating banks, payment service providers, technical infrastructure and merchant acceptance. The exact fees, protections, dispute processes and user experience will depend on the rules and commercial terms of each service. The ENP’s success will therefore depend on whether enough banks, users and merchants adopt it. 1 2 6
Closing Thoughts
Europe is not unveiling a single government-run payment processor. Private payment providers are trying to link services that people already use, while EU rules make instant euro transfers more broadly available. The result could give consumers and merchants another way to move money across borders, with less dependence on international card schemes for eligible transactions. Whether it becomes a routine option will depend on reliable connections, clear consumer protections, attractive merchant terms and broad adoption.
What does this look like in practice?
A person in one participating country could open the local payment app they already use, select a contact in another connected country and send money from a bank account. If the two services are connected through ENP, the shared layer would help route the payment between them. At a later stage, the same initiative aims to support online and in-store purchases. The phased order is deliberate: cross-border person-to-person transfers are planned first, while merchant use cases follow.
What makes this significant?
It gives Europe a route to build competition from existing local networks rather than asking everyone to abandon familiar apps for a single new brand. If the connections work at scale, some payments could move on instant bank-transfer rails instead of card-scheme rails. That could strengthen European choice and reduce reliance on international card networks for those transactions, while leaving global cards useful for purchases and markets the new network does not cover. The announcement is a starting point, not proof that Europe has replaced Visa or Mastercard.
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