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The organizer of a proposed third payment-card scheme for Europe says plans now call for a pilot in the fall with a large Belgian retailer and a possible launch in Belgium by early 2010. Dominique Buysschaert, CEO of Belgium-based European Payment Solutions, tells CardLine Global sister publication Cards&Payments that Belgium's dominant acquirer and processor Atos Worldline has "confirmed" that all of its point-of-sale terminals in the country will support the planned low-cost Payfair brand by the end of the year. Also, he says large merchants and two major retail federations are urging Belgian banks to issue cards supporting an alternative brand, such as Payfair. Buysschaert says plans call for expanding into the Netherlands, Germany and France after Belgium, then later covering the rest of Europe. But Payfair, which one large merchant has described as the "Ryanair of payment schemes" after Europe's largest discount airline, is behind schedule for takeoff, Buysschaert acknowledges. Buysschaert, a former executive in Belgium for retail giant Carrefour Group, and his company's backers had hoped to launch the trial at large Belgian retailer Colruyt Group before the end of last year and to introduce the scheme in Belgium and a few other European countries by the first quarter of 2009. But delays in the pilot, among other preparations, have held things back. Belgian banks also have been reluctant to issue cards supporting the brand, although Buysschaert says two of Belgium's biggest banks are considering the scheme. Under the Payfair business model, merchants would pay much lower transaction fees compared with what they pay now as part of many of Europe's domestic debit systems and under networks run by MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Europe, Buysschaert says. Payfair merchants would pay extra only for additional services they want, such as an authorization fee if the retailers want a payment guarantee. For low-value transactions, merchants might forgo the fee and save money. "We don't have a very big structure (like) MasterCard and Visa have at this time, and we are focused on cost," says Buysschaert. Payfair is one of three proposed card schemes in Europe hoping to take advantage of the changing payments landscape the Single Euro Payments Area mandates will bring. But despite enjoying the moral support of European Union officials, who are not keen on having United States-based or affiliated card schemes MasterCard and Visa Europe dominate a SEPA-compliant European payments market, Payfair and the other proposed schemes, the Euro Alliance of Payment Schemes and Monnet, will face a difficult task trying to encourage merchants and banks to roll out new payment cards and upgraded terminals across Europe. And for Payfair to fly, banks would have to cobrand their cards with MasterCard or Visa for international use.
