European payment systems cooperate and launch “Payment Roaming” in Germany, Austria and Italy
Lachen (Switzerland) / Rome (Italy) / Munich (Germany) / Vienna (Austria)
Bluecode and Bancomat, both members of EMPSA (European Mobile Payment Systems Association), are enabling users of their payment systems to pay seamlessly within each other’s acceptance network. This is made possible by a technical, commercial, and legal standard defined by EMPSA, which creates the prerequisites for cross-border interoperability of various payment systems.
“We are very pleased to announce our cooperation with Bancomat, which allows users of both payment systems to have the widest possible acceptance in their respective countries,” says Christian Pirkner, CEO of Bluecode and Chairman of EMPSA. “Our collaboration provides users of both systems with a seamless and secure way to pay with their home mobile payment solution in the partner’s merchant network. This is a milestone towards a pan-European acceptance network that respects national systems and becomes internationally usable through interoperability,” Pirkner continues.
The cooperation already began during the 2024 UEFA European Championship, where the interoperability of the two payment systems allowed selected users to make payments with their familiar solution in the fan zones of the tournament. Now, the cooperation is being further expanded and will be available to all users of Bluecode and Bancomat in the coming months. This underscores the commitment of both companies and EMPSA to promote the integration of European payment systems without compromising their national identities.
In the so-called Payment Roaming, users of different participating solutions can use their familiar mobile payment system in other countries, similar to roaming in mobile communications. “The concept of interoperability is comparable to mobile phone roaming: users pay in other networks just as they do in their own. The network switch is completely smooth, and the user roams in the respective other network, just like cross-border calling and surfing,” explains Pirkner. On the acceptance side, no additional efforts are necessary either, particularly not technically, commercially, or legally.
Numerous European solutions, currently 11 in total, have joined forces in the EMPSA association and created the necessary prerequisites. With the partnership between Bluecode and Bancomat, mobile payment methods are now interoperable for the first time, and further expansion with other EMPSA members – and beyond – is being implemented to establish a European acceptance network.
“The partnership with Bluecode is an important step for Bancomat, but especially for the development of a comprehensive European standard,” adds Fabrizio Burlando, CEO of Bancomat. “We are proud to be able to offer our users a seamless user experience outside of Italy, in Germany and Austria, as a first step, while also enabling Bluecode users to make payments at our merchants and restaurants in Italy – and this is just the beginning.”
About EMPSA
The European Mobile Payment Association (EMPSA) consists of 16 members in 17 European Markets, representing more than 90 million users, more than one million merchants and hundreds of European Banks. Current members include: BAMCARD (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Bankart (Slovenia), BANCOMAT (Italy), Bancontact Payconiq Company (Belgium), Bizum (Spain), BLIK (Poland), BORICA AD (Bulgaria), Bluecode (Austria and Germany), DIAS S.A. (Greece) iDEAL (Netherlands), MobilePay (Denmark and Finland), Plick (Italy), SIBS (Portugal), Swish (Sweden), TWINT (Switzerland) und Vipps (Norway). Further information: www.empsa.org.
About Bluecode
Bluecode is a European payment system that enables cashless payments via mobile phone and integrates digital value-added services—particularly in apps of banks and merchants. The solution is based on a blue barcode or QR code, which is directly linked to current accounts are other funding sources. Customers can use it to pay quickly, easily, and securely, as well as benefit from digital value-added programs. Bluecode can be used both via the Bluecode app and through cooperating apps, such as those of retail partners and banks. Additionally, Bluecode collaborates with international partnets like the European Mobile Payment Systems Association (EMPSA) and Alipay+ to advance payment interoperability worldwide. Bluecode is available for customers both within and outside of Europe. For more information, please visit: www.bluecode.com
About Bancomat
For 40 years, BANCOMAT S.p.A. has operated the most popular and well-known withdrawal and payment circuits in Italy, identified by the brands BANCOMAT®, PagoBANCOMAT® and BANCOMAT Pay®. It is one of the leading and most important players in the debit card payments market in Italy, with 3 billion payment and withdrawal transactions worth about Euro 225 billion on an yearly and about 31 million cards in circulation. It is participated by 113 Italian banks, which are part of the more than 400 providers of payment services that use its services. For more information, please visit: www.bancomat.it
Press contact
Blue Code International AG
Schützenstrasse 7
CH-8853 Lachen SZ Switerland
press@bluecode.com
Claudio Wilhelmer
PR & Special Projects
+43 (0)676 4959890