French president calls for sovereign European payment system to reduce reliance on US firms

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a sovereign European payment system, broadcaster BFM TV reported.

In a video message to the French Card Payment (Carte Bancaire) summit on Tuesday, he said payment systems are "an essential part of our sovereignty.”

"We must build a sovereign payment model," Macron said, referring to European solutions such as Wero, developed under the European Payments Initiative (EPI).

Wero offers instant payments between individuals and aims to extend to merchants, allowing transactions directly from European bank accounts.

It is designed to compete with services such as PayPal or Apple Pay while keeping financial flows and data in Europe.

Control over payments

Macron added: "Giving up control over payments would mean accepting that the core of our transactions depends on actors who are not necessarily aligned with us, who do not necessarily have the same interests."

With more than 77 million cards in circulation, the French Card Payment Group dominates domestic transactions but faces competition from US networks and mobile payment solutions, Macron said.

Macron has previously argued that the EU should pursue a more independent path from the US. He has urged diplomacy and restraint in the US-Israeli war on Iran and has formally recognised Palestinian state.