The European Commission-backed European Payments Initiative (EPI), an initiative to create a pan-European payments network to rival Visa and Mastercard, has announced changes to its approach after a number of financial institutions dropped out of its plans.

The proposed initiative, which was first launched in June 2020, was initially backed by 31 European banks and credit institutions across Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain.

Now only 13 financial organisations are still involved in the plans, these are: Banco Santander; Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel; BNP Paribas; Crédit Agricole; Deutsche Bank; Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband; Groupe BPCE; ING Bank; KBC Bank; La Banque Postale; Nets, Société Générale; and Worldline.

“Thirteen shareholders confirmed on February 25th that they remain convinced of the strategic value of a unified payment solution ready for commerce leveraging especially instant payments and want to go ahead,” said the EPI in a statement on its website. “Therefore, the EPI Interim Company is now adapting its scope and objectives to this new dimension.”

Last year the EPI appealed for public funding after private backers were not prepared to provide all the cash it needed.

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