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Finextra

Strategic agreement between EPI and EuroPA: building a unified European digital payments network: By Roberto Garavaglia

On June 23, 2025, the 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 (𝗘𝗣𝗜) and 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗣𝗔 announced a major collaboration aimed at creating an interoperable, sovereign European ecosystem for digital payments—offering a credible alternative to international card schemes. WHO ARE THE KEY PLAYERS? EuroPA is an alliance of national digital payment champions – 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁(Italy), 𝗕𝗶𝘇𝘂𝗺 (Spain), 𝗠𝗕 𝗪𝗔𝗬 (Portugal), 𝗕𝗹𝗶𝗸 (Poland), 𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗦 (Greece), and 𝗩𝗶𝗽𝗽𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗣𝗮𝘆 (Nordics). These solutions are already widely adopted and focus on enabling technical interoperability between existing mobile wallets, offering fast and integrated payment experiences within their local banking ecosystems. EPI has launched Wero, a pan-European digital wallet based on SEPA Instant Credit Transfers (SCT Inst) and Payment Initiation Services (PIS) under PSD2. Wero enables instant, account-to-account (A2A) payments without relying on traditional card networks. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES? EuroPA solutions are rooted in domestic infrastructures, with varying technological approaches. Wero, in contrast, offers a unified architecture, designed for full interoperability and scale across Europe. What they share is the 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀, who manage accounts and ensure service delivery. WHY DOES THIS MATTER? The agreement lays the groundwork for true operational convergence between well-established solutions and a next-generation infrastructure. It accelerates the adoption of A2A payments across all transaction types: P2P, B2C, C2B, B2B WHAT ABOUT THE DIGITAL EURO? The digital euro, a retail CBDC under development by the ECB, shares key goals: instant payments, interoperability, and reduced dependency on non-European networks. But there are fundamental differences: 📌 In the EPI-EuroPA model, payments are executed in commercial bank money, with banks playing a central role. 📌 In the digital euro model, payments would be made in central bank money, with banks having a less central role in the transaction flow. THE FUTURE OF EUROPEAN PAYMENTS DEPENDS ON A SYNERGY BETWEEN COMPLEMENTARY MODELS ... ➡️ Commercial banks + infrastructure innovation (EPI-EuroPA) ➡️ Central bank money + digital inclusion (digital euro) 🔗 EPI Company Press Release: 🔗 Finextra: