The head of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, has called on the EU to develop its own payment system to reduce dependence on foreign platforms, in particular, American Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Chinese Alipay.
The head of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, has called on the EU to develop its own payment system to reduce dependence on foreign platforms, in particular, American Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Chinese Alipay.
Lagarde announced these intentions in an interview with Newstalk. According to her, the European Union should strengthen control over digital payments and provide alternatives that are independent of the US and China.
«When you pay in an online store, by card or by phone, you always rely on non-European infrastructure. Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Alipay — where do they come from? Either from the US or from China. The entire infrastructure that provides payments is not European,» Lagarde noted.
She acknowledged that the listed companies operate in accordance with European standards. However, she emphasized that Brussels still «needs to make sure that there is a European alternative.»
«Just in case. You never know what could happen,» Lagarde said.
However, these are only plans for now, because to fully replace the EU payment giants, it will be necessary to create its own infrastructure.
She also stressed that it is not only about finance, but also about defense and trade. For example, she called for strengthening the internal European capital market and creating a single supervision and removing barriers that hinder economic growth. According to IMF estimates, internal restrictions in the services sector are equivalent to 110% of tariffs, and in goods trade — 40%.
