> Creating a viable alternative to Visa and Mastercard requires “several billion euros” in investment

Just the transaction processing fees going to VISA and Mastercard now would probably pay that back within a few years. Also, we're talking about all or almost-all European countries. So it doesn't sound like that much.

> Low interchange fees under EU regulation make profitability difficult.

Mandating that businesses which accept US credit cards must accept the European payment card would take care of that. Actually, maybe that's not necessary, it's probably enough to mandate that companies making card processing tech which supports US credit cards must also include support for this card; and businesses would just get it with their next system upgrade / terminal replacement or something.

> Consumer habits are deeply entrenched

I 'like' how people are described as "consumers", as though every payment is for consumption.

Anyway, habits are not that deeply entrenched. Didn't people adopt those country-level payment cards? Don't people occasionally change credit cards? It's not even a change of tech, it's just yet another card.

> and neither Visa nor Mastercard will sit idle while Europe tries to dismantle their most profitable market.

Now this may be a significant factor... they could influence politicians, tech solutions makers (with sweetheart deals if they don't support the new payment tech, or whatever), they can get the US government to make some kind of threat (we've already seen the threat to invade Greenland). So, yeah, there's that.