Europe demands building an alternative to Visa

Europe has started demanding the urgent creation of its own alternative to American Visa and Mastercard. As the head of the European banking alliance Martina Wimmer stated, the dominance of American companies in the payment systems market could become a tool of influence and even a weapon in the event of deteriorating transatlantic relations. According to her, the development of independent infrastructure will allow European countries to guarantee the security and autonomy of financial operations, as well as reduce dependence on external service providers.

Context

In recent years, the European Union has been intensifying efforts towards financial self-sufficiency, including the transition to its own digital euro and countering external sanctions.