Christine Lagarde: Europe needs its own alternative to Visa and Mastercard

European Central Bank Governor Christine Lagarde has made a strong call for a "march for independence" in digital payments, highlighting Europe's critical vulnerability: most electronic transactions today go through US and Chinese systems such as Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Alipay.

"We must ensure that there is a European solution," she said on Irish radio's The Pat Kenny Show, emphasising the need for an alternative controlled not by outside powers but by Europeans themselves.

Dependence on external payment systems means vulnerability not only in the economic sphere, but also in cybersecurity, data privacy and the EU's strategic autonomy. According to Lagarde, this is about Europe's financial sovereignty.

In parallel, she linked this project to a broader goal: the creation of a fully-fledged Capital Markets Union (CMU), which should be the economic foundation of the EU's future fiscal integration. The potential economic impact of these steps is up to €3 trillion per year.

The creation of a European payment system capable of competing with global giants faces many obstacles:

• Low commissions in the EU limit returns;
• Multi-billion dollar investments in infrastructure will be required;
• A change in the habits of users, retailers and banks is needed;
• High technical security and anti-fraud requirements;
• Finally, political coordination between the 27 EU Member States.

Even Lagarde herself admits that implementation will take time and compromises, but her statements make it clear: the ECB is serious, and an architectural shift in Europe's payment system may await us in the coming years.

Although the €3 trillion figure is partly based on unofficial estimates, the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) confirms: full capital market integration and the completion of economic and monetary union could generate €2.8 trillion to EU GDP by 2032. This would mean a stronger EU not only internally, but also on the global stage.