European Mobile Payment Systems Association

What European Mobile Payment Systems Association does

European Mobile Payment Systems Association (EMPSA) is a non-profit association founded in 2019 and headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, governed by Articles 60 ff. of the Swiss Civil Code. It is not a payment system itself but a standards and interoperability body that brings together 13 trusted national mobile payment schemes — including Bancomat (Italy), Bizum (Spain), BLIK (Poland), Swish (Sweden), TWINT (Switzerland), Vipps MobilePay (Nordics), SIBS/MB WAY (Portugal), Bluecode (Germany/Austria), Bancontact Payconiq (Belgium), Borica (Bulgaria), DIAS (Greece), MPAY (Albania), and TRANSFOND/RoPay (Romania) — collectively representing more than 120 million users and 5 million merchant acceptance points across 13+ European countries. EMPSA's core product is an interoperability framework comprising unified QR code specifications, P2M and P2P interface standards, and supporting technical, legal, and commercial guidelines developed through its Interoperability Working Group. Demonstrated milestones include the 2020 TWINT–Bluecode proof of concept, 2022 cross-system multilateral transactions, 2024 live Bluecode–Bancomat interoperability at UEFA Euro 2024, the 2024 launch of the EuroPA P2P partnership among Bancomat, Bizum, and MB WAY, and the February 2026 MoU with EPI Company to scale sovereign cross-border payments across 13 European countries by 2027.

EMPSA's business model is membership-funded: the association collects recurring dues from its national payment system members and reinvests them in standards development, three working groups (Interoperability, Regulatory Policy, Comms & Media), annual Brussels conferences, and advocacy work with the European Central Bank and EU co-legislators on the digital euro, Instant Payments Regulation, and PSD3. Distribution is mediated entirely through member schemes, which onboard banks, merchants, and consumers via their own channels, so EMPSA does not transact directly with end users. Governance is democratic and member-driven, with representatives from each scheme on the board; Teresa Mesquita (SIBS) was elected Chairperson in October 2025. The strategic narrative is European payment sovereignty: positioning local, trusted schemes as a sovereign alternative to global card networks and non-European wallets by making them work seamlessly across borders while preserving their domestic identities.

Name

European Mobile Payment Systems Association

Legal name

European Mobile Payment Systems Association

Website

https://empsa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

EMPSA is a Swiss-based, member-funded non-profit association that develops interoperability standards — including unified QR, P2M, and P2P specifications — connecting 13 national European mobile payment systems covering 120M+ users and 5M+ merchants across 13+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Network Services

akta.pro primary industry

A2A Payment Initiation Service Providers (PISPs) (FSAMAFAB)

Keywords

• Mobile payment interoperability
• Cross-border payments
• Payment standards association
• European payment sovereignty
• National payment systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Association Membership Fees: EMPSA operates as a membership-based association. Revenue is derived from membership fees paid by national mobile payment systems that join the association to participate in interoperability standards development and cross-border payment initiatives.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

EMPSA is a non-profit association that brings together 13 national European mobile payment systems to promote interoperability across borders. It defines and maintains common technical, legal, and commercial standards — including a unified QR code format and person-to-merchant (P2M) and person-to-person (P2P) interface specifications — that allow users of one member payment app to pay users and merchants of other member systems while retaining their domestic apps.

Product overview

EMPSA (European Mobile Payment Systems Association) is not a payment system itself but an association that fosters collaboration among local European mobile payment solutions. It establishes common technical standards and brings together 13 national payment systems to enable interoperability across Europe. The core offering consists of the EMPSA Interoperability Framework, including unified QR code standards and P2M/P2P interfaces developed by the Interoperability Working Group. The association also supports the EuroPA (European Payments Alliance) sub-brand, which is a P2P payment partnership between member systems. The model is similar to mobile operators with roaming agreements - EMPSA promotes interoperability that enables customers of one payment solution to pay users or merchants of other solutions, keeping what people love locally while making it work across Europe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EuroPA (European Payments Alliance): A P2P payment partnership launched by Bancomat, Bizum, and MB WAY built on EMPSA standards for cross-border interoperability.

Products and services

• EMPSA Association Membership Membership in a pan-European association for national mobile payment system operators, providing participation in interoperability standards development, access to three working groups (Interoperability, Regulatory Policy, Comms & Media), engagement with EU regulators and the European Central Bank, and inclusion in cross-border payment initiatives. Members include Bancomat (Italy), Bizum (Spain), BLIK (Poland), Bluecode (Germany/Austria), Borica (Bulgaria), DIAS (Greece), MPAY (Albania), SIBS/MB WAY (Portugal), Swish (Sweden), TRANSFOND/RoPay (Romania), TWINT (Switzerland), Vipps MobilePay (Denmark/Norway/Finland), and Bancontact Payconiq (Belgium).
• EMPSA Interoperability Framework Common technical, legal, and commercial standards developed by EMPSA that enable interoperability between national European mobile payment systems, comprising a unified QR code format and standardized person-to-merchant (P2M) and person-to-person (P2P) interfaces. Available to all member systems and supports both bilateral connections and hub-based models.
• EuroPA (European Payments Alliance) A sub-brand and P2P payment partnership under EMPSA standards connecting Bancomat (Italy), Bizum (Spain), and MB WAY (Portugal) for cross-border person-to-person payments, representing an operational application of EMPSA interoperability standards.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully demonstrated live interoperable payments between Bluecode and Bancomat during UEFA Euro 2024
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• EuroPA AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026EuroPA (European Payments Alliance) is an interoperability partnership between EMPSA members Bancomat, Bizum, and MB WAY (SIBS), launched in 2024. This P2P payment partnership was built on EMPSA standards and represents a major step toward a sovereign European payments ecosystem, enabling cross-border person-to-person payments between the three systems.
• EPI Company (EPI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026In February 2026, Bancomat, Bizum, SIBS-MB WAY, and Vipps MobilePay (all EMPSA members) together with EPI Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate sovereign, cross-border payments across 13 European countries. The partnership aims to enable seamless cross-border payments throughout Europe by 2027 through interoperability between members and EPI infrastructure.
• European Central BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEMPSA is engaged in close cooperation with the European Central Bank to shape the design and implementation of the digital euro, advocating for a model that leverages existing European payment infrastructure and positions EMPSA members as key enablers for digital euro distribution and adoption.
• EU Co-legislators and RegulatorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEMPSA actively engages with EU co-legislators and regulatory authorities to advocate for payment sovereignty and ensure favorable conditions for European mobile payment solutions in evolving regulations including Instant Payments Regulation, PSD3, and digital euro frameworks.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Visa: Visa operates a global card network that dominates cross-border European retail payments. EMPSA's interoperability efforts are partly aimed at reducing European dependency on Visa and similar global networks.
• Mastercard: Mastercard operates a global card network and competing cross-border payment capabilities. Like Visa, it represents the incumbent global infrastructure that EMPSA's sovereignty agenda targets.
• NACHA: NACHA governs the ACH network in the US and is the closest geographic-functional analog to EMPSA, developing payment rules and standards for a national payment ecosystem.
• The Clearing House (TCH): TCH is a US private-sector payments association that operates the RTP real-time payment network. Comparable to EMPSA in operating real-time payment infrastructure but focused on the US market and bank-based real-time payments.
• Swift: Swift operates the dominant global messaging network for cross-border interbank payments. It addresses a similar cross-border payment challenge but at the interbank level rather than consumer-to-merchant mobile payments.

Direct peers

• Berlin Group: Berlin Group develops NextGenPSD2 and open banking interoperability standards for European banking. Like EMPSA, it is a multi-stakeholder standards body focused on European payment interoperability, though focused on PSD2/API-based banking rather than mobile wallets.
• European Payments Council (EPC): EPC governs SEPA payment schemes and develops standards for euro payments across Europe. It plays a similar standards-setting role as EMPSA but for SEPA credit transfers, direct debits, and card payments rather than mobile payment interoperability.
• European Payments Initiative (EPI): EPI is a competing/parallel European payment unification initiative building the Wero wallet. EMPSA and EPI signed an MoU in February 2026 to coordinate on cross-border interoperability, making EPI the most directly comparable peer in European payment sovereignty.

Emerging players

• Wero (EPI's wallet): Wero is the EPI consortium's unified European digital wallet, launched by Bancomat, Bizum, and other European banks. It is an alternative pan-European payment experience that EMPSA members are now collaborating with via the February 2026 MoU.

Others

• PCI Security Standards Council: PCI SSC develops global payment card industry security standards. It plays a similar standards-body role for payments but focused on security rather than interoperability, with global rather than European scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/empsa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/empsa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about European Mobile Payment Systems Association