GirocardsEC

GirocardsEC is a proposed European electronic payments network intended to standardize and facilitate Girocard payments across multiple European countries. The project envisions a centralized processing hub and interoperable issuance standards that would allow banks to issue Girocard products usable at point-of-sale terminals across participant markets, complementing existing international card networks.

The governance model would be a cross-border consortium of banks, card issuers, merchants' associations, and regulators. It would establish issuance rules, transaction processing standards, settlement schedules, and dispute-resolution mechanisms, while ensuring compliance with European payment regulations, data protection, privacy, and consumer rights.

Operations would cover card issuance, acquiring, and settlement, with support for physical cards, mobile wallets, and contactless payments. The system would rely on EMV chip-and-PIN or EMV contactless, tokenization for mobile wallets, and strong customer authentication under PSD2.

Status and adoption: The concept has been discussed in regional forums and has seen limited pilots in select markets. Broad rollout depends on regulatory alignment, merchant acceptance, and ensuring seamless interoperability with existing card networks.

Impact and challenges: Proponents argue it could lower cross-border debit card costs, increase consumer convenience, and boost competition; critics point to integration complexity, data-sharing concerns, and potential disruption to established networks.

See also: Girocard, European Payments Council, EMV, PSD2.