Payment service providers Worldline and Nets have joined the
recently created European Payments Initiative (EPI) as shareholders representing the first third-party acquirers to join the initiative.
The joining of third-party acquirers is believed to greatly contribute to the expansion of EPI’s acceptance network on the merchant side in Europe and will allow EPI to build up its own payment ecosystem in the continent.
The ambition of EPI is to create a unified, innovative pan-European payment solution leveraging Instant Payment/SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst), which offers a card for consumers and merchants across Europe, a digital wallet and P2P payments.
The solution aims to become a new standard in payments for European consumers and merchants across all types of retail transactions.
This includes in-store, online, cash withdrawal and ‘peer-to-peer’, as an alternative to existing international payment solutions and schemes.
Meanwhile, other well-progressed expansion talks are said to also be ongoing with various players.
Gilles Grapinet, chairman and CEO of Worldline, commented: “Worldline warmly welcomed the launch of the European Payments Initiative by 16 major banks earlier this year, and consequently gladly accepted their invitation to join the EPI interim Company as the first non-bank acquirer.”
Grapinet continued: “Almost 20 years after the introduction of the Euro, the moment has come to join forces in a collective effort to provide consumers and merchants with a truly European digital payment solution, carefully designed for the business needs of the 21st century.”
“As Europe’s leading payment service provider for POS and E/M Commerce, Worldline intends to actively contribute to the definition of the necessary success factors for the future roll-out of EPI.”
Bo Nilsson, Group CEO of Nets, said: “The European Payments Initiative will benefit the entire payments ecosystem in Europe. All stakeholders including issuers, acquirers, merchants and ultimately the end-consumers will gain from a strong and truly European digital payment solution.”
“As a pan-European paytech leader, and with our origin in one of the most digitised regions in the world, we look forward to becoming a significant contributor to designing and establishing a successful EPI platform. Based on modern payment technologies and capabilities, we will strive to make payments easier for merchants, banks and consumers across Europe,” Nilsson added.
