The smartphone has now established itself as a means of payment in a large number of European countries. These generally compatible mobile payment systems want to enter into closer working relationships with one another and have thus founded the European Mobile Payment Systems Association (EMPSA).
In addition to TWINT; EMPSA’s members include the nationally launched payment systems in Belgium (Bancontact Payconiq Company), Germany/Austria (Bluecode), Finland/Denmark (MobilePay), Portugal (SIBS/MB WAY), Sweden (Swish) and Norway (VIPPS).
EMPSA will be chaired by Søren Mose, Chairman of the TWINT Board of Directors, with Anton Stadelmann, Deputy CEO and CFO of TWINT, acting as General Secretary. The EMPSA headquarters is domiciled in Zurich. In the medium term, the association intends to make it possible for users to use all of the individual systems in each of the member countries. EMPSA has already set up a working group to review the technical issues surrounding interoperability.
“With this international cooperation, we want to accommodate our users’ wishes of also being able to use the tried-and-tested systems internationally,” explained Søren Mose, Chairman of EMPSA.
TWINT CEO Markus Kilb also had the following to say: “I am delighted that TWINT will be able to play a leading role in this association as the founding member. I am confident that this association will help to promote the interoperability and international use of the mobile payment systems in the medium term and establish a genuine European alternative means of payment.”
The leading mobile payment system
In just two years, TWINT has established itself as Switzerland’s leading mobile payment system. With some 1.7 million users and around 4 million transactions made every month, TWINT is becoming ever more popular.
In addition to making in-store payments, TWINT is the fastest payment solution for e commerce and can be used for transferring money to other TWINT users (peer to peer). TWINT is now accepted in practically all major retail stores, including Coop, Migros, Spar and Volg. TWINT is also the leading payment solution in the mobility sector and allows for payments to be made with the SBB, BLS, many private railway networks, Fairtiq, TCS and the largest provider of electric charging stations “evpass”. What’s more, TWINT can already be used to pay to use approximately 90,000 parking spaces in Switzerland, thus negating the need to have cash.
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