The two heavyweights of the European payments industry have become shareholders of the company that is leading the EPI project, supported by 16 European banks. The company, which is temporary, is at the same time acquiring governance. The European Payments Initiative (PPE) aims to create a unified European payments system, competing with Visa and MasterCard.

The announcement was expected by all European payment professionals. Two industrial heavyweights, the French Worldline and the Scandinavian player Nets, announced, this Wednesday, their entry into the capital of the EPI Interim Company, based in Brussels, and responsible for launching the implementation work of this ambitious European project, the European Payments Initiative (PPE). This project, officially launched on July 2 at the initiative of 16 major European banks, five countries of the euro zone, aims to create a new European standard of payments, cross-border and domestic, likely to free itself from non-European providers, such as Visa and MasterCard . This project is clearly supported by the European Central Bank (ECB) and, as a new development, by the European Commission itself, in the name of "European sovereignty". A major asset Before the launch of the operational phase, scheduled for 2022, the interim company's mission is to define the technical roadmap. This is why the arrival in this program of the first non-bank players, such as Worldline and Nets, both specialized in the processing of payments with merchants (acquirers), is a major asset for its success. "Further discussions with several industry players are ongoing, at an advanced stage," said the joint statement to the 16 banks of the project. Opening the game "This participation of industrialists is extremely important. It opens up the game to key non-bank players in the payments ecosystem, brings significant firepower to the EPI project and should facilitate the coverage of European markets that are not yet well covered by the alliance, such as Northern Europe and Italy." says Hervé Sitruk, president of France Payments. In fact, the EPI project is taking off in a rapidly consolidating European payments landscape. Already, the merger between Worldline and Ingenico had created the European number one in payments (and number four worldwide). And Nets is in talks to merge with its Italian counterpart Nexi, which has just completed the acquisition of Italian IT company SIA, which also specializes in payments. This operation, if it were to materialize, would allow the two players to take the first European place at Worldline. Above all, however, it would strongly encourage Italian banks to join the EPI project given Nets' commitment. Gold speed racing, in the opinion of professionals, everything is a question of "velocity", according to the expression of a banker, in the face of the growing appetites of the major global players, including the GAFA. "You have to go very fast. Global giants such as MasterCard and Visa are multiplying initiatives to establish themselves in Europe. And the only response today to this offensive is an industrial response and it is the PPE that carries it, "confirms Hervé Sitruk. The two major American schemes do not remain without reacting. They make numerous acquisitions, equity investments or partnerships in processing activities in Europe. They also benefit from their global base. Visa, for example, offers in Europe its instant payment service, Visa Direct, a solution of "very good quality", according to an expert, and is embarking on instant payment in Canada and the United States. Two projects to be carried out at the same time In this race against time, the PARTNERS OF THE EPI can count on the support of the ECB, which is now trying to convince the major European banks still recalcitrant, particularly in Italy, Portugal and Austria, to join the alliance. "There is still a lack of a dozen major European banks to consolidate the project," said one observer. The challenge is all the greater for banks as they must lead the development of digital currency, a priority project for central banks, again, to counter international initiatives, such as the Chinese e-yuan or the libra of Facebook . "Banks can carry out both projects simultaneously," said the governor of the Bank of France, François Villeroy de Galhau, during the Europlace meetings. No French at the head of the company EPI In the wake of the announcement of the new shareholding, the interim company of the EPI has clarified its governance. Not surprisingly, it is a German who takes the presidency of the board of directors, in the person of Dr. Joachim Schmalzl, from the world of German savings banks. On the other hand, observers expected the appointment of a Frenchman to the general management, taking into account the weight of French banks in the project (more than a third of the voting rights). Finally, Martina Weimert was appointed to this position. It's actually a half-surprise. Indeed, as a partner of the firm Oliver Wyman, she has been the linchpin of the project for two years and the main interlocutor of the banks. It was already part of the first pan-European Monnet project, aborted in 2012 due to a lack of banking consensus and support from the European authorities. "It is quite logical that Martina ends her mission by organizing the final structure that will carry the new payment system," said one observer. It is therefore more than likely that a Frenchman will then take the operational direction of the new structure.

La Tribune Nouvelle SAS