Payments Sovereignty in Europe: Can Europe Finally Build a Pan-European Alternative to Visa and Mastercard?

In this paper, we discuss:

• Why Europe’s dependence on Visa and Mastercard has become a growing strategic and geopolitical concern;
• How fragmented national payment systems have prevented the emergence of a pan-European payments network;
• Why recent initiatives such as the European Payments Initiative have renewed efforts to strengthen Europe’s payment sovereignty;
• How political coordination and commercial incentives, rather than technology, remain the biggest obstacles to a European alternative;
• Why the future of European payments will depend on sustained cooperation between banks, regulators, merchants, and governments.

Download PDF: Payments Sovereignty in Europe – August 2026