Portugal’s SIBS has joined Bancomat, Bizum, EPI/Wero, and Vipps MobilePay to establish the European Network for Payments (ENP). Based in Madrid, the organisation will connect the payment services offered by its five founding partners.

Together, those services already reach around 130 million users in 13 European countries.

Keeping the services people already use

The partners’ joint announcement says each service will keep its own brand and familiar user experience. The aim is to let those existing services work together across borders.

For MB WAY users, that would mean being able to make payments to people using other participating services, without both sides needing to use the same national payment platform.

The rollout will begin with transfers between individuals. Online shopping and payments in physical shops are planned for later stages.

Technical preparations are now underway, so the announcement does not mean every planned payment option is already available.

European alternative

Reuters reports that the project forms part of a wider effort to reduce Europe’s dependence on Visa and Mastercard.

One difficulty has been the separation between national payment systems. A service can be widely used at home while having limited reach elsewhere. Connecting those systems could make them more useful to people travelling, shopping or sending money abroad.

However, Reuters also notes that the network’s success will depend on factors including shop acceptance, payment regulations and political support. Establishing the organisation is one step; getting the service widely used will take further work.

For Portugal, the intended benefit is practical. As SIBS chief executive João Mello Franco explained in the announcement, the new infrastructure will allow MB WAY users to pay across borders while keeping the service they know.

The changes will arrive in stages, with person-to-person transfers coming before the wider shopping features.

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