Europe’s local card schemes are stepping up their digital game. From enabling online payments and mobile wallets to embedding loyalty and cashback programs, domestic networks are closing the gap with global schemes. Merchants are finding more value in these schemes as costs rise elsewhere, while sovereignty and resilience remain key themes. Innovation, cost efficiency, and independence are driving a stronger role for local payment systems across Europe.
1. Card Payment Mix by Card Scheme
(% total card payment value; select EU markets)
2. Factors Supporting Stabilization of Local Schemes
(select key observations from Flagship Advisory Partners)
- Digital innovation: by investing in innovation, local schemes are expanding into online payments and mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay (e.g. Dankort, BankAxept, PagoBancomat, Girocard), steadily closing the gap with international schemes. For example, BankAxept in Norway only enabled online transactions and digital wallet payments in 2024 and is now catching up (and has higher share loses).
- Political Support: Local actors are actively advocating reduced reliance on US-based international card networks, advocating the case for maintaining domestic payment infrastructure and sovereignty.
- Merchant Economics: Local card schemes across Europe consistently promote lower-cost economics for merchants, with the gap widening as international scheme costs rise.
- Merchant Steering: Merchants are increasingly steering consumer spending toward lower-cost local card schemes, for example by tying loyalty programs and benefits exclusively to domestic debit cards (e.g. coalition loyalty Trumf(Pay) and BankAxept in Norway, MB Way UP cashback campaigns with retail partners in Portugal, BANCOMAT Club in Italy, GiroCard and PAYBACK in Germany).
Please do not hesitate to contact Yuriy Kostenko at Yuriy@FlagshipAP.com or Elisabeth Magnor at Elisabeth@Flagshipap.com with comments and questions.