Five European payment providers form cross-border network

Five European payment providers have formed the European Network for Payments (ENP), an interoperability layer intended to connect their services for cross-border payments. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding earlier in 2026.

The network brings together Italy's Bancomat, Spain's Bizum, Portugal's MB WAY, the Nordics' Vipps MobilePay and Europe's Wero. Together, the five platforms reach 130 million users, more than 70% of the combined populations of the EU and Norway, according to an ENP press release.

ENP is designed to let users send payments across the participating services without leaving their preferred app. Its rollout will begin with international person-to-person payments, followed later by e-commerce payments and then physical, in-store payments. The network hopes to implement all three payment types by the end of 2027.

Bancomat CEO Fabrizio Burlando said the shared framework would connect national solutions while preserving the trust and local ties each had built in its market. The initiative comes amid European efforts to strengthen digital sovereignty. The European Commission has pointed to differences in QR code, NFC and Bluetooth standards, and said the EU electronic payments market is dominated by a few large global players. The European Central Bank reported that international card schemes handled 61% of euro-area card transactions in 2022.