This is an Austrian company that offers mobile payments with barcode/qr-code in shops in Austria and Germany, as well as in a few places in Italy and Luxembourg.
I use it since one year. It works fine, but it could definitely use more attention, so that more shops start to accept it. What are your thoughts on that?
On one hand, I want the convenience of a unified system. On the other hand, I don’t want another monopoly with a dangerously wealthy CEO at the helm.
Well, isn’t visa and Mastercard part owned but the banks? Perhaps a similar system is the only way to make it work. It seems odd that with a unified market for services, payment processing needs to be a bank registered in each country. I assume that is why it’s an issue. It should be possible for any processing within the euro zone to be instant between countries and not need a seperate licence for each. Revolut already does quick easy transfers even between non euro countries. I wonder if a bank like that could do it? I think as a bank they are on,y registered in one country, so maybe I’m wrong on the need to register everywhere.
at least the swish system is set up as a collaboration between banks. it’s not its own entity. assuming most of the others work this way too, since transferring between banks takes so long.
Maybe a payment system that would only be responsible for EU transfers would be the solution? In addition to the established solutions.
I don’t have a great understanding of economics and business, but I think what we need ultimately is to start cooperatives that compete with the megacorps. It seems to distribute wealth more fairly, instead of weaponising wealth.