The European Payments Alliance (EuroPA) has achieved a significant milestone by enabling customers of Spain’s CaixaBank to send money to individuals in Portugal, Italy, and Andorra through the Bizum mobile transfer scheme.
CaixaBank and imagin customers can now transfer funds to these countries without needing the recipient’s phone number, bank cards, or account numbers. EuroPA fosters interoperability among Italy’s Bancomat, Spain’s Bizum, and Portugal’s MB WAY, connecting over 50 million users and 186 financial institutions across Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Andorra.
The alliance’s scope is expected to expand, with Poland and the Nordic countries set to join in the upcoming months. Similar to the European Payments Initiative, EuroPA aims to create a euro-owned payment system to reduce reliance on US card brands.
In June, the two schemes announced plans to explore a joint offering that would encompass all use cases, including person-to-person and commercial payments, both online and in-store, across participating markets.