Five national mobile payment systems have formed an alliance to link their networks via a central European hub launching in the first half of 2026.

Partners Bizum (Spain), Bancomat (Italy), MB WAY (Portugal), Vipps MobilePay (Nordics) and Wero (France) will enable cross-border person-to-person transfers from 2026 and merchant payments from 2027 across 13 countries, according to the May 2026 report citing the European Payments Initiative (EPI) (https://www.lesnumeriques.com/banque-en-ligne/adieu-visa-et-mastercard-130-millions-d-europeens-basculent-vers-un-paiement-100-souverain-des-2026-n250918.html). The group already serves 130 million users and follows the 2025 EuroPA prototype that processed six million euros in its first year.

ECB President Christine Lagarde referenced related sovereignty concerns in an April 2025 speech; the new hub will route all transaction data within European infrastructure without transiting US servers. Deployment targets 72 percent of the EU and Norwegian population.

National systems including Spain-Portugal-Italy-Andorra linkages established in March 2025 serve as the technical foundation for the full rollout.