The services provided by Swiss payment app Twint so far were restricted to Switzerland. With the European project launched on Tuesday, this is bound to change.
Twint, the digital payment solution sponsored by the Swiss banking industry, was a domestic solution only – quite different in its approach than global leaders such as Apple Pay or Samsung Pay. Other national solutions, including Sweden’s Swish, were equally restricted in their reach.
Providers from seven European countries are now making a bold step forward and founded the European Mobile Payment Systems Association (EMPSA). Their solutions are backed by no less than 350 banks.
Taking on Global Giants
EMPSA plans to develop a system that will allow its members compete with global giants. They will make the different apps mutually compatible, which will enable their clients to use the app of their choice during travels but also for cross-border transactions.
Following companies are members of EMPSA: Twint, Bancontact Payconiq (Belgium), Bluecode (Germany/Austria), Mobilepay (Denmark/Finland), SIBS/MB Way (Portugal), Swish (Sweden) and VIPPS (Norway). The headquarters of EMPSA is in Zurich and the president of the association is Twint Chairman Søren Mose (pictured below).
The importance of the Swiss partners comes as a slight surprise given that the founding of the association was in part driven by the European Commission. The EU wants payments to flow freely in the common market.
The pressure is also business driven as large rivals from overseas and neo-banks such as Revolut and N26 bid to take the place of the national champions.
Similarity of Systems
EMPSA isn’t going to be drawn on when the interoperability will be achieved but a spokesperson insisted that the systems as such were fairly similar in their build.
The use of so-called QR-codes for instance is widely accepted and a group of six European providers in June agreed on a cooperation with Alipay based on its use, as industry blog «Pymnts» reported.
Swedish Industry Leader
The most advanced members among the group are based in Scandinavia. Sweden’s Swish has seven million users in a country of 10 million inhabitants. EMPSA Vice-Chair Anna-Lena Wretman is also head of Swish. The Swiss member Twint may well receive key insights into the working of such a dominant payment solution.
In Switzerland, about 1.7 million people are signed up with Twint and make 4 million transactions a month. So far though, the app is no match for cash, which remains the dominant payment means used by Swiss consumers.
