The European Payments Initiative (EPI), a bank-backed initiative designed to create a competitor to Mastercard and Visa in Europe, has successfully completed its first e-commerce transactions, setting the stage for a comprehensive launch later this year.
The proof-of-concept transactions took place between late November and mid-December on the online store of the German football club FC Kaiserslautern. This involved the seamless integration of the EPI’s Wero wallet into the merchant’s online platform and its acquiring partner, VR Payments, as well as in the online banking app used by customers.
Additional trials will occur throughout the first half of the year, leading up to the official launch in Germany in the summer. Belgium is expected to follow in the fall, with France slated for early 2026.
The EPI indicates that the e-commerce module will address standard payment scenarios, including one-off payments and refunds, while gradually introducing more complex payment models.
Martina Weimert, CEO of the European Payments Initiative, stated, “This proof-of-concept is another key step towards our retail market entry into commercial payments. The goal was to demonstrate that our solution functions smoothly from end to end, providing simplicity, security, and efficiency as we have advocated. We are now preparing for a broader introduction in the coming months.”
In November, the EPI announced the enrollment of 14 million users and reported processing eight million transactions since the launch of its P2P wallet. In-store payments at cash registers are planned for addition in 2026, along with features such as BNPL, merchant loyalty programs, and expense sharing.