The Chairwoman of the Spanish Banking Association (AEB), Alejandra Kindelán, highlighted today that advances in payment interoperability reinforce Europe’s autonomy and strategic sovereignty. Payments are essential in this era of geopolitical upheaval, accelerated technological transformation, and increasing global competition.
“When we talk about payments, we are talking about economic sovereignty, competitiveness, and Europe’s capacity to decide its future,” she stated in Rome during the closing of the conference ‘European Payment Solutions and Interoperability in Europe,’ promoted by ABI, AEB, Bancomat, and Bizum.
Payments have acquired strategic relevance by constituting a fundamental pillar of economic and commercial relations, both in the physical and digital spheres. And the interoperability of payment solutions between countries represents a great opportunity to gain scale and efficiency by leveraging existing systems.
In a short time, more than 150 million Europeans could make their payments easily, immediately, and securely – she specified – thanks to the alliance of payment solutions led by Bizum and Bancomat, an experience already underway between Spain, Italy, and Portugal.
The implementation phase for the interconnection of Bizum, Bancomat, MB WAY, Vipps MobilePay, and Wero/EPI is already in progress. The project will enable cross-border person-to-person (P2P) payments this year and, subsequently, also payments in physical and online stores in 2027. The initiative covers 12 EU countries and Norway.
In his address at this forum, Fernando Rodríguez, Deputy General Director of International Expansion at Bizum, announced that Bizum is ahead of schedule and will be available for in-store payments in Spain by 2026.
For Alejandra Kindelán, expanding interoperability will be key to consolidating a true European payments market, thereby strengthening the continent’s growth, competitiveness, and strategic autonomy.
“Europe needs to grow. With growth and competitiveness, our voice will be stronger, we will have more opportunities, and we will be able to strengthen our autonomy in an increasingly demanding global environment. And when it comes to competitiveness, the banking sector’s role is fundamental,” Kindelán assured.
