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On June 24, 2026, the European Payments Council (EPC) released version 16.0.1 of its Guidelines on Cryptographic Algorithms Usage and Key Management (EPC342-08). The document provides comprehensive guidance to the European payments industry on algorithm selection, implementation, and key management practices for protecting sensitive financial data and transactions. The 2026 update reorganises the document structure to separate algorithm overviews, cryptographic primitives, constructions, implementation issues, and key management topics. A dedicated chapter addresses post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and the emerging threat of cryptographically relevant quantum computers (CRQCs). The guidance emphasises that while symmetric cryptography and hash functions remain secure against quantum threats, public key cryptography requires immediate attention due to the "Harvest Now Decrypt Later" threat, where adversaries may collect encrypted data today for decryption once quantum computers become available. Key recommendations include: AES remains the standard for new systems; TLS 1.3 should be enabled in all new systems with TLS 1.2 or higher enforced across all use cases; organisations should establish comprehensive cryptography inventories and implement cryptographic agility to enable algorithm migration; hybrid key establishment combining classical and post-quantum algorithms is advisable as a transitional strategy; and symmetric keys should be dedicated to single uses with appropriate key management controls. The update references recent developments including NIST's August 2024 standardisation of ML-KEM, ML-DSA, and SLH-DSA post-quantum algorithms, the EU Commission's Coordinated Implementation Roadmap for Post-Quantum Cryptography transition, and guidance from the UK National Cyber Security Centre on PQC preparation. The guidelines apply to payment service providers, security officers, risk managers, system engineers, and system designers implementing cryptographic mechanisms for retail and wholesale payment systems.