In September 2020, the EU Commission launched its strategy for the further development of the retail payments market in the EU. The European Council has now responded by announcing its full support of the overall aims of the strategy, which are to:
- ensure a competitive and innovative retail payments market in the EU;
- promote the uptake of instant payments; and
- create the conditions for the development of EU-wide payment solutions to decrease the EU’s dependency on major global players in this area.
The Council has invited the Commission to push forward with initiatives and to present legislative proposals, where appropriate, after a due impact assessment. It has also highlighted several challenges to be taken into consideration when further developing and regulating the market, e.g. financial inclusion, security and consumer protection, data protection and anti-money laundering aspects.