Europe Scrambles to Build Its Own Credit Cards as Trump Threatens to Cut Off Visa and Mastercard

Europe Scrambles to Build Its Own Credit Cards as Trump Threatens to Cut Off Visa and Mastercard European leaders are urgently pushing to create a continent-wide payment system, driven by fears that a potential second Donald Trump presidency could see the United States weaponize its control over global financial networks. The stark warning came from French Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Aurore Lalucq, who chairs the European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee. In a viral video message, she stated that Trump could disconnect Europe from Visa and Mastercard, just as the U.S. did to Russia following its invasion of Ukraine [58480]. The move left many Russian citizens unable to access their money, demonstrating the power of U.S. control over the card networks. This vulnerability has sparked a concerted effort to build a European alternative, described by Lalucq as an "Airbus of European payments" [58480]. The initiative is part of a broader struggle for "digital sovereignty"—the EU's goal of reducing foreign control over the digital tools that power its economy, which includes cloud computing, software, and financial infrastructure [58167][58171]. The dependence is seen as a critical weakness. Europe relies on the same U.S. tech giants it often seeks to regulate, making any restrictions difficult to enforce and leaving the bloc exposed to political pressure [58167]. A new report from the Centre for European Reform claims U.S. tech companies work with the White House, using Europe's need for American military protection as leverage to influence policy [44570]. The financial separation is already being discussed in some circles. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, financial experts suggested Europe could begin quietly distancing itself from U.S. financial markets to limit economic dependence, particularly if Trump returns to power [58095]. The deep integration of the two economies makes a full split nearly impossible, but each financial link is seen as a potential pressure point [57344]. In response to the growing threat, Europe is being urged to finally leverage its own economic strength. Experts warn the continent can no longer afford to wait on U.S. political outcomes and must spend more on its own defense and build stronger independent partnerships [58069]. The push for a homegrown payment system is now a tangible first step in a strategy to convert economic weight into strategic autonomy and protect the bloc from external financial coercion [58480]. Trump Could Cut Off Europe's Cards, Warns EU Lawmaker Europe's Digital Dilemma: Reliant on US Tech It Seeks to Curb Europe's Digital Dilemma: Can It Break Free from US Tech Giants? Europe Considers Financial "Divorce" from Trump-Led US Europe's Trump Test: Time to Use Its Own Power US Tech Giants and White House Ally to Pressure EU, Report Warns US-EU Trade: Tied Together, Stuck Together