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Europe DUMPS Visa and Mastercard - 5 Giants FORMALLY UNITE, US Kill Switch DEAD

Published 2026.10.06

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SUMMARY

El, a geopolitical analyst, examines the formation of the European Network for Payments, a collaboration among five major European payment apps that excludes American card networks. The analysis explores the motivations, financial context, and broader implications for European sovereignty and the global payments landscape.

MAIN POINTS

Five major European payment apps unite to form the European Network for Payments, excluding Visa and Mastercard.
The new network enables instant, cross-border payments between 130 million users in 13 countries without American card infrastructure.
The initiative has been in development for nearly three years, with phased rollouts and future integration of a digital euro planned.
Media coverage often misrepresents user numbers, country participation, and the project's scope compared to official documents.
Europe faces significant financial pressures, including high inflation and borrowing costs, as it pursues payment sovereignty.
Predictions include further expansion of the network, broader adoption of person-to-person payments, and a decline in Visa and Mastercard's market share.

DETAILED ANALYSIS

The European Network for Payments (ENTP) marks a significant shift in the continent's approach to financial infrastructure, as five leading payment platforms—Bankomat (Italy), Bizum (Spain), Wero (Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg), MB Way (Portugal), and Vipps MobilePay (Nordics)—have established a jointly owned company headquartered in Madrid. This new entity connects 130 million users across 13 countries, deliberately excluding American card networks such as Visa and Mastercard from its core operations. The move is rooted in concerns over sovereignty and resilience, highlighted by recent geopolitical events where access to payment systems and digital services was abruptly curtailed due to foreign policy decisions, as seen with Russia's exclusion from Visa and Mastercard networks in 2022 and the International Criminal Court's loss of Microsoft services in 2025.

ENTP operates as an interoperability layer beneath the existing national payment apps, allowing users to transfer money instantly across borders using Europe's instant payment standards. Each app retains its branding and user interface, ensuring continuity for consumers while eliminating the need for American intermediaries and their associated fees. This design addresses a longstanding limitation: previously, cross-border payments typically defaulted to Visa or Mastercard rails, exposing European transactions to external control and potential disruption.

The development of ENTP has been a multi-year process. Initial agreements among the founding apps began in late 2023, followed by the formation of the Europa alliance in 2024 and the first cross-border transactions in early 2025. The formal creation of the company occurred in September 2026, with phased implementation planned from 2027 onward.

The first stage will enable person-to-person payments between countries, with subsequent phases targeting online and in-store payments. Parallel to this private initiative, the European Central Bank is advancing the digital euro, a central bank digital currency (CBDC) intended to function as digital cash. The digital euro is backed by significant investment, with development costs projected at €1.3 billion for the ECB and an additional €4–6 billion for European banks.

Legislative support is growing, and a pilot is scheduled for late 2027, with mandatory merchant acceptance expected by 2029.

Throughout the process, discrepancies in reported figures and project scope have emerged, often due to differences in definitions and data sources. For example, the market share of Visa and Mastercard in Europe varies depending on whether the metric is transaction volume, value, or geographic coverage, leading to confusion in media reports. Similarly, the number of countries and users involved has fluctuated, with some initial alliance members—such as Poland's Blik, Greece's Iris, and Bulgaria's Borica—not included among the founding shareholders.

The official communications from ENTP avoid direct references to the United States, instead emphasizing the goal of a "sovereign European alternative to non-European payment systems," a nuance frequently lost in journalistic interpretations.

The launch of ENTP occurs against a backdrop of economic strain in Europe. Inflation has reached a three-year high, with the euro experiencing significant depreciation and countries like France facing elevated borrowing costs and political uncertainty. These pressures underscore the urgency of reducing external dependencies in critical infrastructure.

The broader context includes ongoing global financial instability, high energy prices, and the persistent risk of policy-driven disruptions to essential services.

Looking ahead, it is anticipated that additional national payment systems will join ENTP, expanding its reach and functionality. The adoption of the digital euro is expected to further cement European autonomy in payments, while the dominance of Visa and Mastercard in the region is likely to diminish as the new network gains traction. These developments reflect a strategic response to recent vulnerabilities, aiming to secure Europe's financial system against external shocks and geopolitical leverage.

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