Unfortunately EPI has stalled, I don't know if we'll ever see MC/Visa cards co-branded with a pan-European scheme.
However, the free market approach seems to work for mobile payments solutions such as the extremely popular ones in nordic countries. They have started to build an interoperable and federated network in Europe and beyond. For instance, there's a real demand from businesses that want to let Chinese or Indian tourists pay with AliPay or UPI.
Don't get me wrong, I think DSP is one of the greatest thing the EU has ever done, but it looks like physical cards just need to die before we can see a true competition.
However, the free market approach seems to work for mobile payments solutions such as the extremely popular ones in nordic countries. They have started to build an interoperable and federated network in Europe and beyond. For instance, there's a real demand from businesses that want to let Chinese or Indian tourists pay with AliPay or UPI.
Don't get me wrong, I think DSP is one of the greatest thing the EU has ever done, but it looks like physical cards just need to die before we can see a true competition.