Nordic Initiative at nexo General Assembly 2026: Strengthening the Merchant Voice in Europe

The Nordic Initiative participated in the nexo standards General Assembly in Brussels, joining industry leaders from across Europe to discuss the future of payments, interoperability and standardisation.

As part of the programme, Nordic Initiative CEO Iren Tranvaag delivered a keynote on the Nordic merchant journey and the work being carried out through the Merchant Advisory Committee (MAC), highlighting how merchants can contribute more directly to future payment infrastructure and implementation.

The General Assembly brought together representatives from across the payments ecosystem, including the European Central Bank (ECB), International Air Transport Association (IATA), payment schemes, processors, merchants and technology providers.

A key theme throughout the event was the growing importance of collaboration between industry stakeholders to reduce fragmentation, strengthen interoperability and accelerate implementation of common standards.

Several important developments were confirmed during the meeting, including:

• Continued development of Account-to-Account payment initiatives

• Progress on certification and interoperability activities

• Strong support for the Merchant Advisory Committee

• Increased focus on practical implementation and merchant engagement

For Nordic Initiative, the event represented another important step in connecting Nordic merchant priorities with broader European standardisation efforts.

"We started with alignment in the Nordics. We are now building operational bridges across Europe."

— Iren Tranvaag, CEO, Nordic Initiative

Nordic Initiative would like to thank Santiago Cabeza, Jacques Soussana and the entire nexo standards team for their trust, openness and cooperation.

We look forward to continuing the work together through the Merchant Advisory Committee and contributing to a more interoperable and merchant-focused payments ecosystem across Europe.