Europe's planned rival to Visa and Mastercard appeals for public funding

FILE PHOTO: European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium May 5, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - A planned pan-European payments network backed by 22 banks to compete with U.S. duo Mastercard and Visa appealed on Tuesday for public money, saying its private backers were not prepared to stump up all the cash needed.

The European Payments Initiative (EPI) was launched last year and is seeking to get more banks and other players in payments on board by December to finalise plans to start rolling out its instant and card payments network.