Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment

European banks and payment providers are promoting Wero and similar schemes as local alternatives to Visa and Mastercard.

The discussion compared these tools with national systems like iDEAL and questioned whether they can handle both P2P and point-of-sale payments.

Supporters say broader adoption could cut merchant fees, reduce reliance on U.S.-based card networks, and give Europe more control over payment infrastructure.