Europe wants greater control over its financial infrastructure, but most banks and fintechs still depend on three US hyperscalers. Data sovereignty has become a prominent theme in strategy discussions, regulatory speeches and conversations about Wero and the digital euro. The central issue is whether European financial data should remain dependent on infrastructure owned by US companies.
Since January 2025, DORA has required banks, insurers and payment firms to manage risks linked to ICT providers. European Supervisory Authorities listed 19 critical ICT third-party providers in November 2025, including AWS, Google and Microsoft. These providers face direct EU oversight, while financial firms using them need documented and tested exit strategies. The regulation concerns resilience rather than nationality, but concentration increases the potential impact of outages, sanctions disputes or foreign court orders.
The US CLOUD Act can require US-based providers to hand over data they control, even when it is stored in a European data centre. GDPR restricts such transfers, so European data centres operated by US companies do not fully resolve questions about ultimate access. Morningstar DBRS said European banks are responding with hybrid and multi-cloud setups and examining OVHcloud, IONOS and Scaleway. Few are leaving hyperscalers entirely; most are seeking the ability to do so.
The Data Act requires cloud providers to make switching easier, with switching charges due to disappear completely on 12 January 2027. A proposed Cloud and AI Development Act would establish four sovereignty assurance levels , from EU-based data processing to full EU control of the software supply chain. The Commission could require companies in NIS2 sectors, including banking, to assess their cloud dependencies against those levels. The revised Financial Data Access proposal would determine access to customer financial data beyond payment accounts.
Wero reports around 43 million registered users and has launched for e-commerce in Germany, France and Belgium, with in-store payments planned for late 2026. Its EuroPA alliance could expand potential reach to around 130 million people, while the digital euro has a currently targeted 2029 launch. Europe also controls infrastructure such as SEPA and EBICS. Fintechs should map dependencies, test exit plans and present controllability and portability as commercial strengths.