Unfortunately, these opportunities have not yet been fully exploited by the different market players. Innovative retail payment solutions in the euro area are still largely being provided by non-bank service providers, mainly for the payment initiation phase. Banks – the traditional payment service providers – are at a crossroads.
They can either try to defend their existing products and leave this business segment to non-bank providers, or they can become more open and innovative. If they go down the first road, they risk ending up in the unpleasant situation of, say, bookshops confronted with the rise of online competitors.