Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Estonia are working on the implementation of card payment systems that can function without access to the Internet. This was announced by Tuomas Valimäki, a member of the board of the Bank of Finland. informs Reuters.
Such measures should ensure the possibility of settlements in case of loss of communication, in particular due to possible acts of sabotage. Due to the changing geopolitical situation in the world, the risk of large-scale disruptions increases, and the payment infrastructure is seen as potentially vulnerable due to its importance in everyday life.
“There is a war going on in Europe, and around that war there are various forms of hybrid exposure and harassment, which can include disruption or disconnection”, — noted Valimaki.
In Finland, only 10% of citizens use cash for daily payments, making the country highly dependent on card systems. Although the details are still being worked out, offline payments can be made using terminals that will encrypt and store data until the connection is restored.
Sweden plans to introduce such a system by July 1, 2026, which will allow you to pay for necessary goods without the Internet within seven days. Offline electronic payment systems are already in place in Norway and Denmark and are currently being improved.
Tuomas Valimaki also drew attention to the fact that all of Europe should reduce its dependence on card payments, which are currently largely based on the American payment systems Visa and Mastercard. In this context, Finland is preparing to launch a national instant payment system, and offline payment technology will be available to consumers as early as next year.
We will recall that in April, the president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, called for financial changes on the continent, noting that the EU should reduce its dependence on such American and Chinese systems as Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Alipay by creating its own payment platform. Also last September, the European Payments Initiative (EPI) announced the launch of its own Wero system, which aims to be a European alternative to existing global players.
