Speakers
Objectives
The ECB is working on enhancing the European retail payment landscape and aligning the retail payments strategy with the digital euro project. Efforts include bolstering resilience in response to digitalisation, consumer behaviours, legislative actions, and promoting financial inclusion and digital accessibility.
The EU has progressed in legislation to improve the availability of instant payment options in euro across the region. This entails mandating payment service providers to send and receive instant payments without surcharge and emphasizes the need for substantial investment and rapid digital assessment for effective implementation.
The European Payments Initiative (EPI) has shifted its focus to digital wallet and peer-to-peer (P2P) payments following the departure of influential member banks, reflecting ongoing challenges within the banking sector.
The European Commission has proposed measures to modernise the payments sector, targeting consumer protection, competition, and security in electronic payments. Anticipated legislative revisions aim to address payment fraud, enhance consumer rights, level the playing field between banks and non-banks, and foster innovation and competition. These initiatives aim to improve personal finance management and advice for consumers and benefit SMEs.
Overall, these developments highlight significant evolution and strategic transformations in the EU’s retail payments ecosystem and the policy priorities that are crucial and that the sessions aims at clarifying with European Parliament and Commission renewal approaching.
Points of discussion
- What are the main specificities of the European retail payment landscape?
- Where/how is the European retail payment landscape expected to improve?
- What are the main legal, technical, commercial, and financial arrangements progress achieved recently and the remaining priorities?