Historically, the European payment landscape has been fragmented, with each country relying on domestic payment methods. Germany had Giropay, the Netherlands uses iDEAL, and Belgium depends on Bancontact. Although solutions like Sofort/Klarna and Trustly emerged, Europe still lacks relevant, bank-supported payment brands that could operate across multiple markets. This fragmentation allowed global players like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal to gain a strong foothold with their cross-border, user-friendly services.
As pressure mounts for Europe to develop its proprietary unified payment infrastructure, initiatives like the European Payments Initiative (EPI), with its brand, Wero, and the rapidly expanding Polish system, BLIK, are stepping in to fill the gap. EPI’s Wero continues to announce it is live with new banks and countries, aiming for broad European adoption, while BLIK is leveraging its success in Poland to expand into several more markets. At the same time, older systems like Giropay and Paydirekt are being phased out, prompting the question: are we witnessing a lasting revolution in payments or just another short-lived trend?
Europe has a history of failed attempts at unified payment solutions. The Monnet Project and PayFair launched with high hopes but ultimately failed. At the same time, established systems like Giropay and Paydirekt are being eliminated. While they have different reasons for failing, they have some main points in common: they often had a limited focus on customer and merchant needs, such as providing a seamless experience across online, in-store, and peer-to-peer (P2P) payments. Second, they could not secure the support of all relevant banks. This limited their growth and appeal, and they never reached broad market adoption.
While creating the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) was a significant step towards harmonising cross-border transfers within the Eurozone, Europe still does not act united. Even today, every region does its own thing, and the large European banks are instead prioritising their domestic systems, creating obstacles to achieving a unified European solution. While there is undoubtedly a need for broad solutions, the question remains: can Wero and BLIK overcome the hurdles of regional fragmentation?
Unlike earlier initiatives, EPI’s Wero and BLIK are designed to address the needs of modern consumers by offering solutions that work across multiple payment channels: online, in-store, and P2P. BLIK, for instance, has been wildly successful in Poland because it does so across the board, offering users a seamless experience, whether they're paying online, at the point-of-sale (POS), or transferring money to a friend. Such multi-channel solutions are critical in today’s market, as consumers expect frictionless payment experiences regardless of the situation.
What’s also promising is the strong institutional support behind these initiatives. BLIK expands with the massive support of its shareholder banks to additional markets. EPI, particularly, has garnered backing from major European banks, which has been a missing ingredient in previous efforts. This broad support gives EPI and Wero a better chance of scaling across Europe and addressing the fragmentation that has plagued past attempts.
However, institutional backing alone isn’t enough. In the past, too many European payment systems were designed to focus on banks rather than end users. Successful payment methods must first target the needs of consumers and merchants. While customers need user-friendly, secure, and fast payments, merchants need reliable payment solutions, with easy sign-up processes and competitive rates. Just as important, merchants need to trust that these new systems will gain rapid consumer adoption, as otherwise, they will be hesitant to invest in accepting them.
While EPI and BLIK show promise, they face significant challenges. One of the biggest hurdles is achieving true cooperation among European banks. History shows that national interests can prevent this.
Another major concern is competition with established global players like Apple Pay and Google Pay, which already have a foothold in Europe and millions of users. Reversing existing consumer habits will be a monumental task. EPI and BLIK must offer distinct advantages, such as lower fees, better (data) security, and superior user experience to persuade consumers and merchants to make this switch.
There is a huge risk for Europe, especially if EPI/Wero continue to absorb more established national payment methods, as they already did with iDEAL and Payconiq. If Wero or BLIK were to fail, Europe could end up with fewer payment solutions than it has today, which would negatively impact both consumers and merchants. To mitigate this risk, it’s vital that multiple initiatives gain traction and that both Wero and BLIK are successful.
There are still significant challenges; bank fragmentation, the dominance of global players, and the need to quickly gain consumer trust – all pose potential roadblocks. Many will doubt the likelihood of success – given Europe’s history of failed initiatives –, and that scepticism is understandable. However, we believe that this time there is a real chance for change.
At Nikulipe, we support these initiatives and urge the European fintech and banking communities to do the same. If we collectively trust, believe, and back these efforts, we will see two to three sustainable European payment solutions that truly meet the needs of both merchants and consumers. With the right level of support, EPI’s Wero and BLIK could mark the beginning of a true payment revolution in Europe, finally creating a solution that can compete on the global stage. N.B.: The article was edited on 23 October 2024, deleting MyBank from the list of examples of ‘historically failed attempts at unified payment solutions’ due to MyBank’s request. The authors did not want to imply that MyBank, in general, has failed, but it was a reference to their initially announced goal to build a ‘unified payment solution across Europe’. Only here – in the opinion of the authors – MyBank did sadly not (yet) achieve that Europe-wide acceptance. The authors’ hope is still that several initiatives – EPI’s Wero, Blik, and others, including MyBank – will achieve such a pan-European acceptance, either next to each other, or in cooperation. About Frank Breuss
Frank Breuss, CEO and Co-Founder of Nikulipe, is an entrepreneur and business leader with 20+ years of solid experience in the global payments industry and an expert in local payment methods and cross-border payments. Frank has contributed to the growth of several successful teams and businesses, including PPRO, Banking Circle, and Amazon.
Regimantas Maliauskas, Strategic Partnership Manager at Nikulipe, is a seasoned expert with over 12 years of experience in the global payments and banking industries. He oversees the building of European and African local payment networks in fast-growing and emerging markets under a single Nikulipe platform. About Nikulipe
Nikulipe is a fintech company that helps payment service providers and global merchants access fast-growing and emerging markets via local payment methods in Europe and Africa. Established in 2019, Nikulipe was founded by serial entrepreneurs and unicorn founders, who have vast experience in the fintech industry, with direct expertise in payment industry technology and business development. Learn more about Nikulipe by visiting nikulipe.com.
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