The Spanish Banking Association (AEB), CECA and the National Union of Credit Cooperatives (Unacc) support the launch of the implementation phase of the interconnection of European payment solutions Bizum, Bancomat, MB WAY, Vipps MobilePay and Wero/EPI, which will enable seamless and secure cross-border payments across Europe.
More than 330 million residents in 13 European countries will be able to send and receive payments from their usual national application to users in other European Union countries, with the same payment experience as in their own country, thereby strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy in payments and the functioning of the single market.
The project is based on the use of European infrastructure and standards, and will enable, in a first phase, cross-border peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, with payments at physical and online merchants to be enabled subsequently.
The initiative now enters its implementation phase following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the creation of a central interoperability hub, which will connect existing national payment platforms. This will reduce dependence on international players and advance the technological and financial sovereignty of the European Union.
AEB, CECA and Unacc, as members of the European financial sector associations (EBF, ESBG and EACB, respectively), advocate for this type of industry-led private initiative, which drives innovation and efficiency, building on the infrastructure, scale and technological capacity of the banking sector and European payment service providers.
In the case of Spain, Bizum, the instant payment solution driven by the banking sector, continues its domestic growth and international expansion.
In 2025, the number of users grew by 13.2%, exceeding 30 million, 3.4 million bizums were made each day, with a value exceeding €67 billion, and 111,000 merchants and e-commerce platforms now use Bizum as a payment method. Furthermore, since March 2025, Bizum has enabled cross-border payments in Italy, Portugal and Andorra.
