EU payment autonomy challenged by foreign card scheme dominance
A new European Central Bank report highlights that the EU's strategic autonomy in payments is challenged by the dominance of international card schemes and foreign ownership of processing entities. Card payments accounted for 54 percent of all non-cash transactions in the EU in 2023.
The shrinking footprint of national card schemes
Card payments have become the leading electronic payment method in the EU, totaling 70 billion payments and accounting for 54 percent of all non-cash transactions in 2023.
International card schemes dominate this landscape, capturing approximately 61 percent of euro area card payments in 2022.
In stark contrast, national schemes accounted for only 39 percent.
The report highlights a concerning trend: only nine national card schemes are currently active in the EU, a decrease from 2018.
Thirteen euro area countries now rely entirely on international card schemes.
Even where national schemes exist, they face declining domestic market shares, signaling a continuous consolidation of the European payments market.
This increasing reliance on international players underscores a growing dependency in a critical financial sector.
Foreign ownership in critical processing infrastructure
The report also scrutinizes the card processing landscape, identifying four major cross-border companies among a total of 80 providers across EU Member States.
These entities perform critical tasks in authorizing and processing card payments.
A key finding is the significant presence of non-EU investors, particularly in companies operating across multiple Member States.
While single-country processors are often EU-owned, those with broader European operations frequently have foreign shareholders.
Germany and Sweden, for example, have the largest number of processors owned by United States-based investors.
This foreign ownership in critical processing infrastructure, coupled with international card scheme dominance, creates dependencies that affect Europe's payment sovereignty.
A wake-up call for European payment sovereignty
This report serves as a critical assessment of Europe's increasing reliance on non-EU entities for its fundamental payment infrastructure.
The decline of national card schemes and significant foreign ownership in processing entities represent a tangible erosion of strategic autonomy, moving beyond mere market dynamics.
Without concerted efforts to foster pan-European payment solutions, the EU risks ceding control over a vital component of its financial sovereignty.