The World Savings and Retail Banking Institute published a joint statement from the European Credit Sector Associations, comprising the European Savings and Retail Banking Group (ESBG), the European Association of Co-operative Banks (EACB) and the European Banking Federation (EBF), welcoming private-sector initiatives to interconnect European retail payment solutions, including efforts announced by the European Payments Alliance (EuroPA) and the European Payments Initiative (EPI). The associations argue that strengthened interoperability and mutual acceptance of “best-in-class” European payment solutions would support Europe’s capacity to operate its own retail payments amid geopolitical uncertainty and accelerating digital transformation. The statement links these initiatives to broader objectives around European sovereignty and resilience in retail payments and references alignment with European authorities’ retail payment strategies; it also notes that EuroPA’s announcement involved Bancomat, Bizum, MB WAY (SIBS) and Vipps MobilePay.