Brussels, Friday 13 October 2023
On Tuesday 10 October, the European Digital Payments Industry Alliance (EDPIA), representing independent Payment Services Providers (PSPs) headquartered in Europe, held a high-level discussion with key industry stakeholders on the future of digital payments and furthering competitive, resilient and sustainable payments in Europe.
ENGAGING AT A CRITICAL TIME FOR DIGITAL PAYMENTS
EDPIA was founded on the premise that, while great strides were made in the past, there is still a clear need to accelerate the digitalisation of commerce in the EU and safeguard competition. It is our responsibility, as industry participants and regulatory officials, to resolve the issues that are holding us back.
EDPIA President Ali Mazanderani, Chairman of Teya, started the event by stressing the importance of industry and regulatory cooperation “Europe’s paytech scene has the potential to be one the most vibrant and dynamic in the world, attracting innovative companies eager to challenge the status quo and redefine commerce. By striking the right balance between market forces and regulatory oversight and by embracing the lessons of global success stories, we can collectively propel Europe into a digital future.”
Continuing the journey towards a digital single market in Europe, and ensuring more widespread digital payments in the EU, hinge on the continued collaboration between industry and regulators, and in fostering conditions conducive to innovation and progress. Cash transactions remain prevalent and other regions are moving much faster than Europe, also due to limiting barriers that hold back the European-wide development of digital payments.
A SUCCESSFUL DIGITAL EURO IN A COMPETITIVE PAYMENT SPACE
The panel of senior-level industry representatives and policymaker speakers discussed the future Digital Euro which, under the right conditions and legislative framework, can be an engine to drive further digitisation and innovation of payments across the continent.
The panel discussion ‘Striking the right balance: building a successful digital euro in a competitive payment space’ focused the debate on the challenges of Digital Euro and the balances/trade-offs that need to be met for a successful implementation. The debate coincided with the publication of EDPIA’s position on the Digital Euro.
EDPIA would like to thank the panelists Jan Ceyssens (European Commission), Diego Villafáñez Sagardoy (Spanish Presidency of the Council), Jürgen Schaaf (European Central Bank), Anna Martin (BEUC – The Consumer Organisation), Ninja Reggelin (Zalando), Emőke Péter (Worldline / EDPIA) for their participation as well the moderator David Restrepo Amariles (HEC Paris).
FURTHERING SUSTAINABLE PAYMENTS
The gradual shift away from cash towards more widespread use of digital payments will ensure a more sustainable payment ecosystem across Europe with clear environmental and societal benefits – something Oxford Economics have looked further into and presented their initial findings around the environmental impact of payments at the event.
About EDPIA
The European Digital Payments Industry Alliance (EDPIA) represents the interests of European independent Payment Services Providers. Its purpose is to contribute to EU policy debates that define the business environment for electronic payments, and to strengthen the visibility and understanding of the European payments industry amongst policy makers and society as a whole. EDPIA’s broader objective is to support the EU’s objective to create a Digital Single Market, fueled by digital payments. It is in favour of a strong, stable and properly enforced European regulatory framework that enables intense competition between transparent and market-based solutions, allowing them to compete for the trust of their European and global clients.
Press contact: secretariat@edpia.eu
