David S. Evans and PYMNTS.com caught up with Vitor Bento and Oliver Bretz to discuss the payments industry in Europe. Vitor, Chief Executive Officer of SIBS Oliver and form Visa Europe Board Member ,and Oliver, Partner at Clifford Chance who advises payment companies, share their thoughts on how the European payments businesses weathered the financial crisis and are dealing with the move towards a single European payment area.

Click Here to read the transcript from the above interview.

Oliver Bretz, Partner at Clifford Chance, Specialises in EC and UK competition, regulatory and trade law, in particular mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, cartels, distribution and licensing arrangements, state aid, public procurement, internal market and WTO issues across a wide range of industry sectors including media, telecommunications, e-commerce, transport, pharmaceuticals and consumer products.

Vitor Bento, CEO at SIBS, Vítor Bento is graduated in Economics by Instituto Superior de Economia and has a master degree in Philosophy from Universidade Católica Portuguesa. Having started his professional career, after graduating, at Banco de Portugal, in 1980, in the Economic Research Department, he next held office at Instituto Emissor de Macau, where he was a Board Member. In 1989 Vitor Bento returned to Banco de Portugal as Deputy Head of the Foreign Department and became the Head of the Department., a few years later. From 1989 to 1994 he was a member of the Exchange Rate Policy Subcommittee and of the Alternates Committee (both under the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks of the EEC). In 1994 Vitor Bento took office as the Treasury's General Director and as Chairman of Junta de Crédito Público (Public Debt Mangement Body). And in 1996 became the CEO of the succeeding Public Debt Management Agency (IGCP). Vitor Bento was also a Member of the European Committee on Economics and Monetary Affairs. In 2000 he joined SIBS as Chairman and CEO of the Board of Directors, the office held to present day. Between 2000 and 2006 Vitor Bento was also the Chairman and CEO of Unicre, and Board Member at PT Prime and Visa-EU.

David S. Evans is the founder of Market Platform Dynamics, a boutique consulting firm that helps businesses leverage economics and quantitative methods for growth and profit. David teaches part time at the University of Chicago where he is a Lecturer and at the University College London where he is a Visiting Professor and Executive Director of The Jevons Institute for Competition Law and Economics. He has a Ph.D. and undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Chicago. He also serves on the boards of several high-technology companies and is a longtime advisor to some of the largest platform-based companies in the world.