EPI Will Debut P2P Digital Wallet in 2024

The European Payments Initiative says its vision of a unified payment system is closer to reality.

The EPI plans to launch a pilot of a person-to-person instant payment program in France and Germany by the end of the year, according to a Tuesday (April 25) news release.

The release says the pilot will be followed by a commercial launch next year, extending to additional European countries.

“Initially, it will be a person-to-person digital wallet — under a single European brand — for all everyday payment uses, which will be enhanced by other innovative services to improve the customer experience,” the release said. “The target will also be extended to consumer-to-business payments, online shopping and then to point-of-sale payments.”

Meanwhile, the EPI has acquired the Dutch payment scheme Currence iDEAL and Luxembourg-based payment solutions provider Payconiq International.

The purchase — both still pending regulatory approval — will let EPI “leverage the expertise of major players in their markets to build and deploy a unified and innovative pan-European payment solution that meets the expectations of consumers and merchants,” the release said.

PYMNTS looked at the European payments landscape in an interview last month with Gijs Boudewijn, general manager at the Dutch Payments Association.

He said that while Europe has no pan-regional scheme to rival international card networks, launching one means giving consumers and merchants a reason to get on board, something Boudewijn argued is currently lacking.

“There is hardly any demand, especially not from consumers. They can get a card from their bank which works well all the time, everywhere. So why will they need anything else?,” Boudewijn argued.

As PYMNTS noted, this is a goal the EPI has hoped to achieve, aiming to eventually rival global card networks like Mastercard and Visa, and replace national European payment schemes such as France’s Carte Bancaire and Girocard out of Germany.

But while some retailers believe that international credit card fees might be too steep, Boudewijn said he’s yet to see evidence that a European solution could fulfill the promise of lower fees for merchants.

“For it to be successful, it needs to be better and cheaper than what you already have today. If not, why on earth would merchants accept those payments otherwise?” he told PYMNTS. “They will not do it only for idealistic or geopolitical reasons.”