The virtual conference “Future of Payments in Europe” – the centrepiece of our virtual event series –discussed different perspectives on the latest developments in European payments, most importantly the Retail Payments Strategy of the European Commission, the European Payments Initiative and the potential role of a digital euro in the payments landscape. 

High-level speakers from central banks, politics and the industry exchanged views on the evolving digital payments landscape. The conference was opened by Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann and Germany’s Federal Minister of Finance Olaf Scholz. EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness presented the Commission’s Retail Payments Strategy, which is part of the recently published Digital Finance Package. Next, key trends in European payments were highlighted by Fabio Panetta (European Central Bank), Joachim Schmalzl (EPI), Ignazio Visco (Banca d’Italia) and André Bajorat (Deutsche Bank). In the subsequent panel discussion, Javier San Félix (Santander Group), Gilles Grapinet (Worldline), Jörg Kukies (German Federal Ministry of Finance) and Valentin Stalf (N26) outlined the specific challenges facing market players and take questions from the audience. Burkhard Balz, the board member responsible for Payments and Settlement Systems at the Deutsche Bundesbank, closed the conference by giving an outlook for the future of payments in Europe.