French payment network CB plans to lead a counterattack against Visa and Mastercard.

The French payment network CB is trying to lead a counterattack against American giants Visa and Mastercard, as European officials are concerned that the dominance of these two groups could be used as a weapon against the EU. The head of the network, Philippe Laulani, said that CB has reversed its years-long downward trend. According to the company's own data, CB's market share in the French payment market has decreased from over 90% to 75% in the past five years. Laulani stated that CB uses a "dual branding" system, allowing French bank cards to operate on both international and local networks, and approximately 30 candidate institutions are interested in joining its network.