Europe’s $24 Trillion Breakup With Visa and Mastercard Has Begun
Summary
The article covers Europe’s push to reduce reliance on Visa and Mastercard through the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and the EuroPA Alliance, culminating in the Wero digital wallet and a pan-European interoperable payments network. It discusses historical fragmentation, regulatory drivers, and the challenges of achieving scale and profitability, while contrasting private-sector efforts with the ECB’s digital euro project.