12:09 - 17.02.2026

---

February 17, Fineko/abc.az. British banks will hold their first meeting on February 19 on the creation of a national alternative to Visa and Mastercard amid concerns about possible moves by the Donald Trump administration towards NATO allies.

ABC.AZ reports, referring to The Guardian, that the meeting, led by the head of the British division of Barclays, Wim Maru, was initiated by the largest banks in the City. They will finance the new DeliveryCo operator. The project also includes Santander UK, NatWest, Lloyds, Nationwide and the Link network. The Bank of England will prepare the technical base by next year, and the launch is expected by 2030.

The reason was the fear of a possible shutdown of American systems: nearly 95% of card transactions in the country go through Visa and Mastercard. As an example of the risks, the experience of Russia is cited, where sanctions caused disruptions in the operation of cards.

Earlier, the head of the European Payment Initiative, Martina Weimert, called for speeding up the creation of a single European system and reducing dependence on the U.S.