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European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech (by video message) from Commissioner Albuquerque for the European Mobile Payment Systems Association (EMPSA) Annual Conference 2026 Online, 18 March 2026 Good morning – I am delighted to take part in your event today, unfortunately virtually this time. I think about European payments quite often. There are many parallels between this specific area of my rem...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech (by video message) from Commissioner Albuquerque for the European Mobile Payment Systems Association (EMPSA) Annual Conference 2026 Online, 18 March 2026 Good morning – I am delighted to take part in your event today, unfortunately virtually this time. I think about European payments quite often. There are many parallels between this specific area of my remit and the broader goal of the Savings and Investments Union. The way I see it, there has always been a case for a more unified system of payments in Europe – it makes perfect sense. In the Commission, we have been taking measures to address this since we adopted our Retail Payments Strategy in 2020, where we identified measures to lead to greater payments autonomy in Europe – but we were missing a crucial element necessary for large scale change – a true sense of urgency. The payments landscape hasn't changed overnight, but the urgency around it has grown rapidly in recent years. Clearly something has shifted. I believe that many Europeans take payments for granted. It has been seen as a mere utility for a long time thanks to predictable partners with significant expertise and capabilities that we could rely upon. The world in 2026 offers a very different perspective. Payments have become one of Europe's most important strategic priorities, now sitting aside energy, space, and telecommunications on the list of critical infrastructures that we can no longer leave to the discretion of third-country operators. This is no longer only about convenience or innovation; it is about resilience, autonomy and trust. In a more uncertain geopolitical environment, Europe cannot afford to depend excessively on external actors for the systems that underpin its daily economic life. So, I look to the payments ecosystem with great respect for your adaptability, and for how you are embracing the changes that Europe needs. The European payments landscape has undergone a significant transformation over the last decade, defined by a triple shift in regulation, technology, and strategy. From our side, as regulators, we have worked to stay ahead of the curve and have listened to industry to deliver frameworks such as SEPA, Instant Payments, and our recently updated Payment Services Directive and Regulation. On the latter, our new rules will reduce fraud and will promote innovation, as well as enable a level playing field among different payment methods to bring about a better competitive landscape in our payments ecosystem, including for EMPSA members. From the industry side, thanks to many of you here today, the leap in technology has been astounding. We have moved from a market dominated by physical plastic and multi-day clearing cycles to an era of Instant Payments by default. Payments have become the invisible infrastructure of the European economy, faster, cheaper, and more integrated than ever before. This change also is a clear reflection of the entrepreneurial spirit of our European payments sector, which you all so valuably represent. I also want to commend many of your members here today on the recent Memorandum of Understanding signed between EuroPA and EPI to become interoperable. It is encouraging to see that the shared ambition – the creation of a sovereign, pan-European payment ecosystem – transcends the nuances of the respective operational approaches. And this brings me to the third major shift in the payments space – strategy. The MoU is proof that we are now moving into urgent territory, where decisions that previously could have faced delays or endless discussions are now being made with speed and with a common goal in sight. This is the moment to be ambitious: to build a European payments ecosystem that grows on the strength of European innovation, European capital and European technology. The agreement you have reached serves as a testament to what can be achieved when we aspire towards truly European scale. This spirit of cooperation is particularly vital as we work to deliver the Savings and Investments Union, and I recognise your efforts for setting a benchmark that other sectors would do well to follow. To that end, I invite this association and its members to continue sharing your concrete insights. We need your expertise to identify the most effective levers to pull as we work together towards this vital common goal. Europe's payments ecosystem has already shown what is possible when innovation meets cooperation. Across the continent, millions of Europeans are using technologies designed, developed and trusted here in Europe — proof that our innovators have the talent, the ambition and the capacity to lead. What you are building is not only convenient and competitive; it is secure, resilient and rooted in European values. And in a world where dependencies are increasingly scrutinised, the ability to rely on our own strengths has become a strategic necessity. Your work is also sending a powerful signal beyond the payments sector. When European players come together, align standards and think at continental scale, they create real value — for companies seeking growth, for citizens looking for trusted solutions, and for an economy that needs investment, efficiency and confidence. This is the path forward for Europe: cooperation that builds scale, innovation that drives competitiveness, and ambition that turns European technology into global leadership. Let this ecosystem be an example to other industries: that by working together, Europe does not lose diversity — it multiplies its strength. And if we continue on this path, Europe will not only keep pace with change; it will help define it. I conclude wishing you a productive day of discussions. Thank you. SPEECH/26/638 Related media Message by Maria Luís Albuquerque, European Commissioner, on the occasion of the EMPSA’s 2nd Annual Conference “Pan- European Interoperability: from conception to reality”
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