According to cashless.pl, PKO BP will not participate in the project of building a European payment organization, managed by EPI Interim. "Having thoroughly analyzed the necessary costs and potential benefits of joining EPI and having evaluated the development prospects of this initiative, PKO Bank Polski has decided to withdraw from this project as a stakeholder of the company. At the same time, we do not rule out participating in the payment system created by EPI in the future," wrote the press office of PKO BP in response to my question about its participation in EPI.

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The EPI is an initiative of the largest European banks which decided to create an institution to compete with the American payment organisations. At its peak, over 30 institutions from the European Union, mainly banks but also clearing agents (e.g. terminal operators), expressed interest in participating in this project. In the end, only 13 of them expressed a willingness to further engage in the venture.

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It is worth noting that in addition to the fact that the group of those interested in building an EPI has decreased, the priorities regarding the future system have also changed. Initially, it was announced that it was to be an institution that could fully compete with US payment organisations, offering cards, mobile payments and more, including real-time P2P instant transfers. In contrast, it was announced a few days ago that stakeholders now want to focus on building a payment solution using instant payments, and EPI Interim is adapting its scope and objectives to this new dimension.