Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130 million Europeans are switching to 100% sovereign payment methods by 2026

Europe settles the score

Europe is finally launching its tech response to American dominance. Five major mobile payment giants have just formed a historic alliance to unify their networks. Starting next year, the daily transactions of millions of users will break free from traditional transatlantic routes and flow through a strictly European and independent infrastructure.

The European banking landscape is about to experience a seismic shift. Major players like Bizum in Spain, Bancomat in Italy, MB WAY in Portugal, and Vipps MobilePay in the Nordic countries are officially joining forces with the French initiative Wero. This coalition is no mere symbol; it is underpinned by a solid base of 130 million active users. By connecting these national ecosystems, Europe is not just critiquing the dominance of Visa and Mastercard, but is building an alternative capable of processing billions of annual transactions without any data passing through U.S. servers.

Total interoperability as the key to digital freedom

Europe has the infrastructure, scale, and vision needed to offer a sovereign, robust, and reliable European alternative in the payment space.

The project is based on the creation of a central interoperability hub, managed by a common entity that the partners will establish in the first half of 2026. This technical platform will enable different systems to communicate with each other, without users having to change their habits. A French user of Wero will be able to transfer money to a Spanish friend on Bizum with the same ease as a domestic payment.

An ambitious rollout timeline towards complete autonomy

The rollout will be gradual. Transfers between individuals will be available by 2026 across all thirteen covered countries – from Andorra to Sweden. Online and in-store payments will follow in 2027. Ultimately, this coalition will cover 72% of the population of the European Union and Norway.

European payment sovereignty is not a vision, but a reality in the making.

The EuroPA alliance, which has already connected Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Andorra since March 2025, serves as a prototype. Six million euros have flowed through it in a year, without any particular promotional campaign. An encouraging signal for this ambition of European autonomy in a sector long dominated by extra-continental giants — a concern that Christine Lagarde had already emphasized in April 2025.