European payment interoperability

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Brussels, Lisbon, Rome – April 16, 2026 – Bancomat, SIBS-MB WAY and EPI Company (EPI) today announced the successful completion of a joint Proof of Concept (PoC) demonstrating interoperability of their respective mobile payment solutions for cross-border in-store transactions. This achievement marks a concrete acheivement in the cooperation under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in January 2026 between Bancomat, Bizum, EPI, SIBS-MB Way and Vipps MobilePay, which aims to accelerate the deployment of sovereign and interoperable pan-European payment solutions.

The PoC validated that users of each participating mobile payment application can seamlessly perform retail transactions abroad using QR-code-based person-to-merchant (P2M) payments. Users of each on the solutions (Bancomat, EPI and MB WAY) succesfyully payed cross border at merchants of the other solutions. This confirms the feasibility of a common central interoperability model enabling mobile payment solutions from different European countries to function across borders

The PoC was conducted with the operational support major financial institutions, such as La Banque Postale, Intesa San Paolo, and the 28 financial institutions members of MB WAY and will serve as a blueprint for scaling across the broader PSP network, underscoring the critical role of the ecosystem in enabling pan-European interoperability.

By proving the technical and operational feasability of cross-border QR-code payments, this PoC provides a strong foundation for the broader collaboration between the parties under the MoU. It demonstrates that pan-European interoperability can be built on existing pan-European and national solutions, benefiting consumers and merchants by making digital payments simpler, safer, and widely accepted across Europe.

This milestone reinforces the collective ambition of the signing parties to accelerate the rollout of European coverage by sovereign, pan-European payment solutions based on cooperation and innovation; with a roadmap that includes cross-border P2P payments in 2026 and expansion to e-commerce and point-of-sale payments in 2027, including the completion of NFC-based point of sale payments.

“This milestone shows that Europe can achieve genuine interoperability by building on its own strengths. Through this PoC, together with our partners, we are taking a decisive step towards digital payments that are simpler, safer and truly pan‑European. It reinforces Bancomat’s role as an infrastructure serving both Italy and Europe” says Fabrizio Burlando, Bancomat CEO.” says Fabrizio Burlando, Bancomat CEO.

“Europeans will be herewith enabled to pay from one solution to another, from one country to another with their local solution in a secured and seamless way less than one year since we have announced our intention to collaborate with other European solutions. At the European Payments Initiative, we are delighted to see the sovereign future of payments in Europe we imagined is already happening. Cross-border payments with local schemes at the speed of light will step by step become the norm in Europe, whether it is a peer-to-peer transaction or payments in commerce.” stated Martina Weimert, EPI CEO.

“This Proof of Concept is a landmark achievement for European payments. We strongly believe that innovation means putting consumers and merchants first, enabling safe and seamless pan-Euroepan digital payments experience. By building on the trust that millions of Europeans already place in their national payments solution and leveraging SIBS infrastructure, we are laying the foundations of a truly interoperable European ecosystem that is independent and resilient” says Teresa Mesquita, SIBS Executive Board Member and COO.

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About the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) sibetween Bancomat, Bizum, EPI, SIBS-MB Way and Vipps MobilePaY

On 2 February 2026, Bancomat (Italy), Bizum (Spain), SIBS-MB WAY (Portugal), Vipps MobilePay (Nordics) and the European Payments Initiative (EPI) jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) marking a major step toward creating sovereign, interoperable pan-European payment solutions. The MoU aims to accelerate the rollout of seamless cross-border payments across Europe by 2027, strengthening Europe’s payment sovereignty at a time when the region is still highly reliant on non-European payment players. The initiative connects already-successful local mobile payment solutions through a central interoperability hub, enabling them to work together without replacing domestic brands. Together, the participating solutions already serve approximately 130 million users across 13 European countries, representing roughly 72% of the EU and Norway’s population, giving the initiative immediate scale for consumers and merchants.

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