15 November 2023

Speech by Commissioner McGuinness at European Payment Institutions Federation Annual Conference

The European Payments Institutions Federation brings together many important bodies involved in payments.

And payments are the backbone of trade, commerce and the economy.

So in my remarks I want to talk about the digital revolution in payments, our work in the European Union that impacts payment institutions, and the global context for this work.

I'm not sure when I made my first digital transaction, but today we are more and more using digital, particularly our digital wallets.

Our physical wallets are more and more for our cards which we now tap with.

Online payments are on the increase, using a QR code, an instant bank transfer or a virtual card.

And technology allows us to track our spending on an app.

I should add that I still use cash and know that having that choice is important for citizens – but more on that shortly.

There's a huge and growing diversity of digital options in payments.

And payment institutions are at the forefront of this digital revolution.

You are often innovators and early adopters of new technologies.

And that in turn enables many other businesses to embrace innovation with all the advantages it can bring.

We are embracing the digital revolution in payments.

I'll talk you through some of the important initiatives from the past year.

Beginning with the Instant Payments Regulation.

Because last week, we reached agreement between the European Parliament and Council on this Regulation.

And this is all about making instant payments the new normal.

Because of all the benefits that having instant payments could bring.

Companies and businesses – especially SMEs – can improve their cashflow.

Around €200 billion would be freed up on any given day with instant payments.

And universal instant payments could open the way for new solutions at point of sale, for example involving QR codes.

I am sure many of you are looking closely at what new solutions you could develop based on instant payments.

If I move to April, we made an important step forward on the Banking Union.

This was the Commission's proposal to revise the Crisis Management and Deposit Insurance framework.

We are reviewing how this framework has been used in practice.

It included a revision of the Directive on Deposit Guarantee Schemes.

And this is important for payment institutions....

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