EPI without Commerzbank: How is the payment initiative going?
DPaying for food delivery with PayPal, using Apple Pay at the supermarket checkout, paying the bill for the new sweater with Mastercard: US payment service providers dominate the market. That should change with the European Payments Initiative (EPI). Europe would like to be more independent in the future with its own payment service. But now, with Commerzbank, another bank is exiting the project, as reported by the Handelsblatt. “The remaining range (market coverage) and relatively high initial investments are no longer consistent,” said a spokesman for Commerzbank. This means that the essential prerequisites for a strategic investment are not met and Commerzbank is not involved in the project at this point in time.
EPI: Bank withdrawal in Spain, among others
As early as December 2021, rumors were circulating that several banks were no longer 100 percent behind the project, including Commerzbank. Basically, the EPI is “a right idea to advance European payment transactions,” explained the spokesman. However, numerous banks from various European countries have already announced their withdrawal. In Spain, for example, 15 institutes initially expressed interest in the project. But according to the Handelsblatt, financial circles say that only the big bank Santander is currently still sticking to the EPI.
EPI: This big bank is still there
However, Deutsche Bank, the largest local credit institution, is still behind the initiative. “We continue to support a European solution,” said a company spokesman. The aim of the project is to set up its own payment system in order to be more independent of powerful US corporations such as Mastercard, Visa and PayPal in the future. By 2026, those involved expect investments of around 1.5 billion euros. Within the coming weeks, a decision will now be made as to who will actually participate in the EPI. It is quite possible that the support from the remaining financial institutions will not be sufficient and the project will not be implemented.