Boosting competitiveness in EU retail payments : A strategic policy agenda
Abstract
The European Union’s retail payments landscape is undergoing rapid transformation but remains hampered by fragmented regulation, uneven competition and emerging fraud risks. This paper examines four central dimensions and sets out targeted policy recommendations. First, on regulation and compliance, the Payment Services Directive 3 (PSD3) and the Payment Services Regulation (PSR) should move beyond formal harmonisation by simplifying legal texts, avoiding excessive delegation to technical standards and fostering supervisory convergence to create a truly integrated market. Secondly, to strengthen resilience and competitiveness, policy should prioritise interoperability among private pan-European initiatives such as Wero and EuroPA, while ensuring complementarities with public projects like the digital euro, supported by common standards and settlement infrastructure. Thirdly, fraud prevention requires more dynamic transaction monitoring, multilayered defences, proportionate liability-sharing and EU-wide intelligence-sharing mechanisms aligned with data protection rules. Finally, fair access to enabling technologies such as near-field communication and secure elements must be guaranteed through transparent frameworks, proportionate fee structures and incentives for cross-platform interoperability. Taken together, these recommendations provide a strategic policy agenda to reinforce innovation, security and integration in EU retail payments, underpinning both consumer trust and Europe’s digital economy. This article is also included in the Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at http://hstalks/business.
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Judith Arnal is a member of the board of the Bank of Spain and a senior fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies, the European Credit Research Institute and the Elcano Royal Institute. With extensive experience in Spanish and European financial policy, she has held senior roles at the Spanish Treasury and served as Head of Cabinet to the Deputy Prime Minister. She has chaired key Eurogroup reforms, holds a PhD in economics and finance, and contributes regularly to financial media and academic institutions.
Fredrik Andersson is a researcher at the Centre for European Policy Studies and the European Credit Research Institute, specialising in financial market regulation and its impact on industry and consumers. His work covers payments, consumer credit, auditing, retail investor protection and insurance. He holds a master’s in European economic studies from the College of Europe and a bachelor’s in politics and economics from Stockholm University.
Beatriz Pozo is Unit Coordinator of the Financial Markets and Institutions unit at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS). She holds a master’s degree in European studies from King’s College London and a dual bachelor’s degree in journalism and film, television and media studies from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Before joining CEPS, she was a trainee at the European Economic and Social Committee. She has also worked in the area of waste management for EucoLight, and in communications for Oxfam Intermón.
