PayPal, a global fintech leader with more than 430 million active accounts worldwide, has joined the European Payments Council (EPC) to help shape the future of payments in Europe. With its strong focus on innovation, trust, and seamless digital experiences, PayPal brings deep expertise in areas such as fraud prevention, interoperability, and instant payments.

In this interview, Sean Byrne, CEO of PayPal Europe, shares insights into the company’s strategic priorities, its motivations for joining the EPC, and its vision for an increasingly interconnected and consumer-driven payments landscape.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be attributed to the EPC.

To begin, could you elaborate on PayPal and what makes it special?

PayPal is a global payments service provider with over 430 million active accounts across approximately 200 markets. What sets us apart is the combination of network scale, deep fraud prevention infrastructure, and the trust consumers place in the PayPal brand at the moment of payment, which translates into higher conversion for merchants and a better experience for consumers.

What are the perceived strategic challenges and opportunities in the payments market, and how do you see the evolution of account-to-account (A2A) payments across Europe?

The payments market is intensely competitive and rapidly evolving: from AI-native challengers to the rise of agentic commerce. Scale, ubiquity, and data are the foundation for competing, but we believe the winners will be those who combine trusted consumer relationships with the ability to operate across all payment rails. 

In the current European context, PayPal is well-positioned to be the wallet and commerce layer consumers reach for, regardless of the underlying rail.

What were the key motivations behind PayPal’s decision to join the EPC, and how does EPC membership support your strategic objectives?

The EPC brings together the institutions that define the rules of the game in European payments, and we see ourselves as an integral part of that conversation, having a direct stake in how European payment infrastructure evolves, and a responsibility to help shape it. Together with the EPC, we see a real opportunity to build a payments landscape that is more interoperable, more resilient, and more trusted, for consumers, merchants, and the broader ecosystem.

“We see ourselves as an integral part of that conversation… having a direct stake in how European payment infrastructure evolves, and a responsibility to help shape it.”

What are the ongoing and future EPC activities to which PayPal expects to contribute more?

The EPC’s agenda aligns closely with our strategic priorities, and we look forward to contributing actively to the following areas: 

• SEPA Schemes Evolution – As one of the largest users of the SEPA schemes, we are committed to supporting their continued evolution. Through active participation in EPC working groups, we aim to contribute practical insights and help ensure the schemes continue to meet the needs of consumers, businesses, and payment service providers across Europe.
• Fraud Management – We are keen to contribute to initiatives focused on fraud prevention and risk management, strengthening the security and resilience of the European payment ecosystem.
• Instant Payments – We see instant payments becoming the preferred payment method across Europe and are already observing strong adoption among our customers and look forward to participating in discussions on further development in that space. 
• Open Collaboration and Industry Innovation – Further engage with industry stakeholders across Europe to help address emerging challenges and opportunities in the payments landscape, fostering innovation and collaboration across the ecosystem.

Looking ahead, what major developments, regulatory changes or technological challenges do you believe will most impact payments players like PayPal in the near to medium term?

Two fundamental shifts stand out: The first is interoperability, and it is being driven by consumers who expect to pay anyone, anywhere, without thinking about which bank, wallet, or scheme sits behind the transaction. That expectation is reshaping the competitive landscape significantly.

“Consumers expect to pay anyone, anywhere, without thinking about which bank, wallet, or scheme sits behind the transaction… that expectation is reshaping the competitive landscape significantly.”

The second is AI, which is now shaping how consumers discover, decide, and pay. As more purchasing journeys begin inside AI-powered interfaces, the question of which payment providers are present, trusted, and ready in those moments becomes strategically critical, and that is a question PayPal is actively positioning itself to answer.

Overall, we are excited about the opportunity to become an active member of the EPC. We look forward to collaborating with stakeholders across the European payments ecosystem and playing a meaningful role in shaping, strengthening, and advancing the future of payments in Europe.