European Association of Payment Service Providers for Merchants (EPSM)

What European Association of Payment Service Providers for Merchants (EPSM) does

European Association of Payment Service Providers for Merchants (EPSM) is a non-profit trade association (eingetragener Verein, registered at Amtsgericht München, VR 18893) founded on 8 April 2005 and headquartered at Ludwigstr. 8, D-80539 Munich, Germany. EPSM represents 67 member organizations — 65 based in 14 European countries (AT, BE, CH, CY, CZ, DE, FR, GR, IE, IT, LU, LT, NL, UK) and 2 in the USA — that provide payment services to merchants in the Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA), including network operators, acquirers, internet payment providers, payment solution providers, payment schemes, terminal manufacturers, and processors. EPSM is funded entirely through a flat annual membership fee of €1,600 per full year (or pro-rated €133.33 per started month for new members), billed without VAT under EU and German "true membership fee" tax treatment, and operates as an equal-fee association.

The association's core offering combines three recurring services: (i) three physical meetings per year held across European venues with typically 40–60 participants and presentations from payments market specialists; (ii) three general online meetings plus several smaller online working group sessions; and (iii) the EPSM Connect member intranet platform (powered by tixxt) with a dedicated mobile app for iOS and Android, providing document sharing and member communication. Beyond events, EPSM runs an active external representation function, including registrations in the EU Transparency Register and the German Parliament lobby register, formal observer status at the European Payment Institutions Federation (EPIF), stakeholder status at the EUIPO Observatory, and individual seats for its Chairman on the European Commission's Payments Systems Market Experts Group (PSMEG) and for a Board Member on the global PCI Security Standards Council Board of Advisors.

EPSM is governed by a five-person Board (Chairman Nicolas Adolph since founding in 2005, Vice-Chairman Tony Sillopoulos since 2011, Treasurer Rainer Zettl, Board Member Rodney Farmer since 2017, Board Member Blánaid Zanini since 2023), an Advisory Council including tenured payments industry figures from Worldline, Fexco, PPI AG, EPASOrg/nexo, and IACTA, and since May 2026 a paid Secretary General (Jürgen Schübel). Excluded from membership eligibility are issuers, merchants, and consultants; voting status requires more than 50% of an applicant's revenue to come from payment services to merchants in the SEPA region.

Name

European Association of Payment Service Providers for Merchants (EPSM)

Legal name

European Association of Payment Service Providers for Merchants e.V.

Website

https://epsm.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

EPSM is a Munich-based non-profit trade association, founded in 2005, representing 67 European and US payment service providers for merchants across 14 European countries, delivering peer networking, regulatory advocacy, and market intelligence through physical meetings, online working groups, and a member intranet platform funded by flat annual membership fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Industry Trade Association Services

akta.pro primary industry

Alternative Payment Method (APM) Acquiring (e.g., BNPL, wallets, local methods) (FSAMABAL)

Keywords

• Payment trade association
• Merchant payment services
• Payment industry networking
• SEPA payment advocacy
• Payment regulatory monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

München

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fee of Euro 1,600 per full year. For new members, proportional fee of Euro 133.33 per month for each started month of membership. The membership fee is a 'true membership fee' according to EU and German tax laws, invoiced without VAT.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

EPSM is a non-profit trade association providing membership-based networking, regulatory monitoring, and advocacy services to European Payment Service Providers for Merchants in the SEPA region. The core offering comprises the EPSM Connect private intranet platform, three physical meetings per year, three general online meetings, and several working group meetings, with active interest representation to EU institutions and other payment industry bodies.

Product overview

EPSM is a non-profit trade association offering a unified membership portfolio centered on peer networking, regulatory advocacy, and market intelligence services for European payment service providers in the SEPA region. The core offering comprises EPSM Connect (an intranet platform for document sharing and mobile communication), organized physical meetings (three annually across Europe), virtual meetings (three general plus working group sessions), and ongoing regulatory monitoring with advocacy representation to the European Commission and other bodies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• EPSM Connect A secure member intranet platform that provides EPSM members with access to meeting documents and a dedicated mobile communication option (iOS and Android apps), serving as the ongoing digital engagement touchpoint for the SEPA payment service provider community.
• EPSM Physical Meetings Three physical meetings per year held across Europe with typically 40-60 participants, featuring presentations from payments market specialists and hosted by rotating member companies for EPSM members in the SEPA region.
• EPSM Virtual Meetings Three general online meetings per year plus several smaller online working group meetings, enabling EPSM members to collaborate remotely on payment industry topics, regulatory monitoring, and working group initiatives throughout the year.

Quantifiable outcome

• Three physical meetings per year with 40-60 participants, plus three general online meetings and working group meetings

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Trusted Charging Alliance (TCA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTCA is listed as an EPSM partner organization, likely collaborating on topics related to charging and payment services.
• Association Paiement, FRminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench payment association listed as EPSM partner, collaborating on European payment industry matters.
• EAST – European ATM Security TeamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean ATM Security Team listed as EPSM partner, collaborating on security aspects of payment transactions.
• VendorcomminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVendorcom listed as EPSM partner organization in the payments ecosystem.
• Payments Europe, BEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBelgian payments industry association listed as EPSM partner, collaborating on European payment policy.
• The Payment Association, UKminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK payment association listed as EPSM partner, working on cross-border payment industry issues.
• European Payment Institutions Federation (EPIF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPSM is an observer of EPIF, providing access to policy discussions and regulatory developments affecting payment institutions across Europe.
• EUIPO Observatory (European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPSM is a stakeholder of the EUIPO Observatory, contributing expertise on intellectual property matters affecting the payment industry.
• European Commission's Payments Systems Market Experts Group (PSMEG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPSM Chairman Nicolas Adolph serves as member of PSMEG, providing direct input on EU payment regulations and policy.
• PCI Security Standards Council Board of AdvisorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPSM Board Member Rodney Farmer serves on the global PCI Board of Advisors, influencing payment security standards.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• nexo standards: European card-payments standards body whose former Secretary General and Board member William Vanobberghen sits on the EPSM Advisory Council. A direct peer serving the European card-acceptance ecosystem with member-driven standards and advocacy.
• The Payments Association (UK): UK trade association for payments industry participants, listed as an EPSM partner. Serves a comparable convening and policy-advocacy function for UK and European PSPs and addresses overlapping cross-border payment topics.
• Payments Europe (BE): Belgian payments industry association representing PSPs and payment solution providers, mutual partner of EPSM. A near-direct peer in pan-European payments advocacy and regulatory monitoring for merchant-facing providers.
• European Payment Institutions Federation (EPIF): EU-level trade association for payment institutions, including many of the same merchant-facing PSPs that EPSM represents. EPSM holds observer status at EPIF, making it a direct peer in Brussels payments advocacy and policy engagement.
• Vendorcom e.V. German payment association focused on card payments standards and acceptance, listed as an EPSM partner. It is the closest German-market peer association for merchant-side PSPs and a direct comparable in convening and standards work.
• IACTA (formerly The DCC Forum): Membership organization representing acquirers, merchants, and cardholders on dynamic currency conversion and adjacent topics. EPSM Advisory Council member Ian Web is a Director at IACTA, evidencing direct overlap with EPSM's acquirer constituency.
• EAST - European ATM Security Team: European not-for-profit organization focused on ATM and payment fraud and security, listed as an EPSM partner. Addresses overlapping payment-security topics for European PSPs, acquirers, and card-acceptance stakeholders.

Regional players

• Association Paiement (FR): French payments industry association listed as an EPSM partner. Operates as a regional peer focused on the French market but addresses similar merchant PSP and regulatory issues to EPSM at the SEPA level.

Broad incumbents

• European Banking Federation (EBF): Large Brussels-based federation representing the European banking sector, including card and merchant acquiring. Operates as a broad incumbent in payments policy and competes with EPSM for regulatory mindshare on merchant-side issues at the EU level.

Emerging players

• Trusted Charging Alliance (TCA): Industry alliance focused on charging-related payment services, listed as an EPSM partner. Represents an emerging area of overlap with EPSM's merchant PSP mandate as EV charging and adjacent use cases become payment-relevant.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/epsm-payment-services-for-merchants

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about European Association of Payment Service Providers for Merchants (EPSM)