ECB’s Mersch calls for Europe’s own global payment services

Bloomberg

European Central Bank policy maker Yves Mersch called on Europe to develop its own global card payment services to compete with international peers and as a defense against any further escalation in geopolitical tension.
Noting the dominance of California-based PayPal for online payments, and the services offered by Alphabet, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, Mersch warned that European providers such as Germany’s Girocard and France’s Cartes Bancaire are too nationally focussed.
“Our reliance on non-European card schemes for domestic payments in Europe is suboptimal,” he said.
“I fear that global giants from outside Europe will use their network power to increase their presence further.”
The ECB board member, whose portfolio at the central bank includes payment systems, said European banks seemed to have
“surrendered” much of the business, with the strong regulatory framework in the EU “exploited” by multina tionals.
Chinese companies Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. were also advancing, he said.