Visa has been the sole card provider for the Olympic Games for roughly 40 years, but its dominant positioning has become a point of concern at this year’s Winter Olympics.
The main issue is that all official souvenir stores at the Milano Cortina games only accept Visa or cash. With cash usage declining across Europe, many visitors without Visa cards have faced long ATM queues to access funds.
While such logistical challenges are not unusual at major events, they highlight Europe’s resilience on foreign payment providers—a dependence that has disquieted many EU leaders. This has fueled increasing calls for a stronger, independent payments infrastructure to reinforce the EU’s standing as a global financial services hub.
“The Olympics has been Visa-only since that marketing deal started way back when, but now they’re shoved into the spotlight because of global affairs, so they are scrambling to install ATMs and let people use cash,” said Don Apgar, Director of Merchant Payments at Javelin Strategy & Research. “Banks in the EU issue Visa- and Mastercard-branded credit and debit cards just like they do in the U.S; Visa and Mastercard are global brands but are headquartered in the U.S.”
“With everything that’s been happening with NATO, Ukraine, Greenland, etc., now the EU is wondering if their payments system could be at risk if the U.S. does something that makes Visa and Mastercard unavailable to the EU, or at a minimum less desirable for EU banks and consumers,” he said.
A Digital Alternative
Although there is no indication that changes to card networks are imminent, financial services are increasingly a focus for EU lawmakers. The rapid rise of U.S.-dollar-backed stablecoins has also raised concerns about the euro’s role in global transactions.
The emergence of stablecoins has intensified discussions around a central bank digital currency (CBDC). However, progress toward a digital euro has been arduous, with ongoing debates about security and the necessity of the digital asset.
Despite these challenges, the European Central Bank plans to launch a digital euro by 2029, contingent on establishing an appropriate regulatory framework. If successful, the CBDC could debut just ahead of the 2030 Winter Olympics in France.
Protecting from the Splatter
The EU’s concerns extend beyond Olympic souvenir payments. Lawmakers recently met to discuss a comprehensive payments plan that would include a euro-backed stablecoin, tokenized deposits, and a focus on ensuring that all lending and aid efforts are denominated in euros.
These discussions followed a landmark trade deal with India that carried significant financial services implications. Collectively, these initiatives signal that payments stability is a top priority for EU leaders.
“There’s also nervousness in the EU about U.S. debt at $31 trillion and growing fast, based on tax cuts and spending in the U.S. right now,” Apgar said. “Many U.S. bondholders are EU countries who are unwinding their U.S. investment positions. Combined with tariffs, Iran, Venezuela, and Gaza, some EU economists are becoming bearish on the U.S., and if our economy hits the deck, the EU is trying to protect themselves from the splatter.”
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