AFAIK, currently all debit cards are US-based. Mastercard - US based, VISA - US based. We used to have girocard in Germany, but it’s being phased out by most banks in favor of one of the US solutions. There used to be the EC system but as I understand it, it’s gone for a while now.
Do we currently have any card-based European payment solutions? How much money do we actually give to the US just for the luxury of being able to pay by card?
It is called Wero and it’s coming.
I didn’t know it existed, thanks for the information. I have activated directly in bank app, it’s supported here in France :)
I’m hoping for it to not suck. My bank doesn’t yet support it, but probably will somentime in 2025. If the system works, I’d be happy to use it instead of my Visa/MasterCard accounts. We really need a good alternative to those and to PayPal.
Portugal, Spain and Italy are also making their own payment system. As an user of the Portuguese interbank payment system I feel it has a lot more well established features compared to other countries. https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/45054/european-mobile-payment-operators-enable-interoperability
In Norway we have BankAxept. Debit cards issued by Norwegian banks have BankAxept and an international system like Visa or Mastercard. Basically all domestic debit card payments are via BankAxept. It costs less for the stores, because the fees are lower. And it costs less for society, because the money isn’t just transferred abroad. As far as I know, the same applies to Vipps (our mobile payment solution).
Do these us solutions actually affect us as long as we’re only doing regular SEPA payments?
As far as I know, SEPA payments don’t go through networks like Visa and Mastercard (or CB), it’s a different system. Do you even need a card to pay by SEPA?
When you’re paying online you mostly just enter your account number.
When I do SEPA transfers via my online banking I only need to enter source and destination bank account information.
Is there a Google/Apple Pay alternative as well? Most people I know in EU hardly even go out with a wallet any longer.
Only Samsung pay for now, nothing European yet.
Some banks like Sparda Bank, Sparkasse and VR in Germany have their own app at least on android as far as I know. And the EU forced Apple to open its ecosystem to other apps.
There is polish Blik. It’s cardless, and I think all major banks in Poland support it. They started expanding into Slovakia and Romania last I heard.
Do we currently have any card-based European payment solutions?
Yes: Russia, a European country, has their own system
