Ladies and gentlemen, its a true pleasure to share this video keynote at EPIFs tenth annual conference, even though I would have much preferred to join you in person.
I know that some of my colleagues from DG FISMA are taking part in panels throughout the day, so dont hesitate to ask them questions.
The European payments ecosystem is evolving rapidly. We are witnessing a wave of innovation, from open banking and instant payments to the emergence of home-grown digital wallets and embedded finance solutions, that is reshaping how people and businesses move money across our continent.
These advances are not only enhancing convenience and speed for consumers but also enabling businesses of all sizes to expand across borders, reach new customers, and build more efficient, digital-first operations.
Before you dive into todays discussions, Id like to share my perspective on how these innovations are helping to shape the future of Europes payments ecosystem, and how together we can ensure this progress continues to deliver tangible benefits for citizens and companies.
Firstly, I want to speak about instant payments.
Since 9 October, the 2nd wave of our instant payments rules came fully into effect. Payment service providers located in the euro area will now offer the possibility of sending instant payment services in euro to their clients. This means that transfers no longer take days to execute, but seconds, at any time and at no additional cost to a standard credit transfer.
Instant payments will boost Europes economic capabilities and bring major benefits for citizens and companies.
For citizens, money is available immediately, making it easier to deal with emergencies or splitting bills in social settings. For companies, cash flow management will be improved, as will customer service.
By providing an additional payment method to customers, they will save time and reduce costs.
The launch of our instant payment service was a success from day one, and I would like to thank everyone - I know there are many - who contributed to such success.
This new regulation is not only about speed and efficiency, but also about security.
Payment service providers in the euro area will now offer free IBAN verification, reinforcing trust and security while helping to significantly reduce IBAN fraud across Europe.
The new rules also allow payment and e-money institutions, many of whom are members of EPIF, to directly participate in payment systems, which will allow them to provide their services more efficiently, with direct access to payment systems.
This is a potential game changer in terms of competition in the payments field, which we should encourage.
Going forward, the Commission will monitor the concrete implementation of the Instant Payments Regulation in Member States so that everyone can fully benefit from these new rules.
While instant payments mark a major step forward, digital innovation never stands still, and we must keep modernising the European payments landscape.
Key to this effort is the ongoing work to finalise negotiations on the Third Payment Services Directive (PSD3) and the Payment Services Regulation (PSR).
The discussions are progressing well, and the joint ambition between all parties is to find agreement, by the end of the year.
Several important issues such as payment fraud remain open.
Prevention is our first line of defence against fraud, and we are reinforcing our tools to improve our preventative capabilities, but prevention is not always enough. We therefore also need to discuss financial liability.
Fraud can originate anywhere in todays digital ecosystem, on an online platform, a search engine, or social media. It adds an additional layer of complexity, and widens the field of financial liability, making finding the right balance in negotiations even more challenging.
Another important topic being discussed at political level is ‘open banking, which I know is an important topic to many EPIF members. I am a strong believer in the contribution of open banking to competition and innovation in payments, and I am sure that we can find a way forward here too.
Before I conclude, I want to touch on the issue of sovereignty. It is a defining factor when we talk about our critical infrastructure, such as payments, and it is very relevant in discussions around Europes economic and strategic independence.
European firms active in the payments space are innovative, agile, and they are growing in popularity.
However, most of these payment instruments remain essentially domestic, with key services dependent on third country payment service providers and their infrastructure, notably international cards schemes.
The emergence of home-grown payment solutions in Europe remains our priority.
In this respect, I was very pleased to hear over the summer that the two main pan-European private initiatives, namely EuroPA and EPI, are working towards ensuring interoperability between their payment solutions.
This is excellent news and proves that European industry understands the strategic necessity of integration and shares our vision of a seamless and competitive European payments landscape.
Allow me to stress that at the Commission, we firmly believe that a truly competitive European payments landscape has room for both private and public pan-European initiatives. But these initiatives must move forward together, in coordination, each reinforcing the other to strengthen Europes financial sovereignty and innovation capacity.
I will now thank you for your attention and wish you all a productive and insightful conference.
I look forward to continuing our cooperation in the months ahead.
Thank you.
