The European Digital Payments Industry Alliance (EDPIA) welcomes the recent designation of gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and takes note of the benefits the DMA can bring to the digital payments landscape.
EDPIA considers the DMA an important tool for the promotion of fair competition in the payments ecosystem, most notably by restricting unfair advantages of gatekeeper companies. In this regard, EDPIA would like to point out two areas where the DMA can immediately boost competition in the sector:
- Unbundling of core platform services from payment services – by allowing businesses to use third-party payment services when trading on a gatekeeper’s core platform, they will have freedom to choose their best fit payment service, which in turn increases freedom of choice.
- Opening up access to crucial mobile payment infrastructure – the DMA will allow mobile payments, especially contactless payments, to become more accessible and interoperable. Taking advantage of this infrastructure is key for bolstering financial inclusion and incentivising market competition.
Payments is an industry that touches virtually every aspect of society. As such, gatekeeping practices pose clear risks not only to the market itself but also to the overall functioning of the European economy. EDPIA therefore calls the European Commission to prioritize the application of DMA to the retail payments sector, pushing forward the EU’s digital agenda and bringing much needed innovation to end-users.
As a voice of the European payment service providers, EDPIA will continue to express its views with the aim of ensuring a regulatory playing field that truly captures the payments sector’s diversity.
