Milan Gauder, Co-Founder of frēda, shares at Money Motion 2025 his take on how Europe can safeguard its payments sovereignty and remain globally competitive in an era dominated by real-time, mobile-first systems.
In this interview, Milan Gauder discusses the urgent need for Europe to rethink its payments infrastructure to remain competitive globally. Frēda, his company, is building a mobile, NFC-based, real-time payments solution designed to address inefficiencies in the current European payments landscape.
Milan notes that Europe has developed a robust card infrastructure, gradually evolving from chip-and-PIN to contactless and then mobile contactless payments—largely driven by global giants like Visa, Mastercard, and Apple. Meanwhile, countries like Brazil, India, and Thailand have leapfrogged into real-time, mobile-first payment ecosystems, drastically reducing cash usage and boosting digital financial inclusion.
Despite having built real-time payment rails, Milan argues that Europe hasn’t seen widespread adoption, joking that Europeans can be ‘lazy’ when existing systems, like contactless cards, still function well. But this complacency comes at a cost—Visa and Mastercard have increased fees, and dependence on these US-based systems poses sovereignty risks.
He points to online alternatives such as Blik (Poland), Bizum (Spain), and Swish (Sweden), which use instant bank transfers instead of cards. However, in physical retail, similar alternatives are lacking. Milan stresses the need for a pan-European, non-card-based system—not fragmented by country, but built collaboratively by startups and retail banks, not central banks or government authorities.
He also shares insights on how to foster innovation, encouraging European startups to develop real-time payment systems akin to those flourishing in emerging markets.
Watch the full interview to discover his ideas on securing Europe’s payment sovereignty through innovation.
About Milan Gauder
Milan brings over 20 years of expertise in payments, banking, and leadership. Educated in economics in Budapest and Prague, he started his career in strategic consulting at Deloitte and McKinsey. At Mastercard, he quickly rose through the ranks, driving innovation, mergers, and new organizational setups across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa as a member of the Mastercard regional leadership team. His last role was as global EVP for card acceptance. Since leaving Mastercard, Milan has become an angel investor and advisory board member in several fintech ventures while also being active in the not-for-profit sector. He was recently awarded by Forbes as 'The Philanthropist of the Year 2024'.
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