European Payments Council has spoken about the development of European payments with Anna Hibino, Global Bank Partnerships Lead at Stripe, a new member organisation that joined the European Payments Council (EPC) on 1 January 2025.
Europe has advanced an ambitious payments policy framework in recent years to foster innovation and competition. Indeed, many of the businesses with which we partner think that Europe’s Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) – which is currently being updated – constitutes smart regulation that should be replicated elsewhere in the world. In addition, the new EU Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) will make instant credit transfers in Europe the new normal.
Anna Hibino says that „these developments represent a critical moment in which the EPC is updating Europe’s payments infrastructure„.
What are the perceived strategic challenges in the retail payments A2A payments markets?
Technology and consumer preferences are rapidly changing the European economy and the way payments are made. We’re seeing the emergence of business models that did not exist ten years ago – for example, multi-sided marketplaces, software-as-a-service platforms that support a wide range of small businesses across Europe, and subscription-based businesses.
Similarly, there’s a surge in cross-border commerce with businesses and consumers interacting across multiple countries and jurisdictions. These new business models require diverse payment solutions to support them, such as recurring payments, direct-to-consumer, and payouts.
At the same time, there’s an acceleration in new payment methods: from real-time payment systems and Buy-Now-Pay-Later payments to central bank digital currencies or stablecoins. For example, account-based payments are being harnessed for innovation by countries around the world and – given the success of European A2A schemes such as iDEAL or BLIK, and the early enthusiasm around Wero – it’s clear that the future of European retail payments will look very different in ten years’ time.
Also, „the use of stablecoins or a future digital euro can help move money across borders more efficiently„.
Read the full interview to find out more about which ongoing and future EPC activities does Stripe expect to contribute most and what future developments and challenges the company anticipate in the near term.
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Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform for businesses. Millions of companies – from the world’s largest enterprises like BMW or Amazon to the most ambitious startups like OpenAI or Mistral – use Stripe to accept payments, grow their revenue, and accelerate new business opportunities.
Fifteen years after it was started, Stripe now processes more than one trillion euros in payments each year, equivalent to one percent of global GDP, making it one of the largest payments companies in the world. The company have expanded beyond payments and is building software-defined financial services, such as billing and invoicing solutions, fraud management, tax calculation, and embedded financial services (including those for platforms and marketplaces).
Headquartered in South San Francisco and Dublin, Stripe employ more than one thousand people in Europe and serve over one million European businesses.
Banking 4.0 – „how was the experience for you”
„So many people are coming here to Bucharest, people that I see and interact on linkedin and now I get the change to meet them in person. It was like being to the Football World Cup but this was the World Cup on linkedin in payments and open banking.”
Many more interesting quotes in the video below:
