The European Payment Initiative (EPI), a bank-backed project aimed at creating a competitor to Mastercard and Visa in Europe, has achieved notable milestones with 14 million enrolled users and eight million processed transactions since its launch.
The latest figures coincide with the EPI’s introduction of the Wero wallet in Belgium for customers of Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, ING, and KBC, following its initial rollout in France and Germany. Additionally, preparations are underway for a standalone P2P payments app.
Since July 2024, customers of German savings and cooperative banks have been using Wero integrated within their banking apps. “With Wero, we aim to establish a new standard for digital payments in Germany and support Europe’s independence and sovereignty in financial transactions,” remarks Joachim Schmalzl, managing director of the DSGV. He expresses pride in the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe’s involvement in this initiative, which provides a secure, quick, and user-friendly payment solution while appealing to merchants showing strong interest.
The Wero standalone app will be available to Postbank customers for A2A payments starting next week, with Deutsche Bank customers gaining access in 2025. Integration into the banking applications of Postbank and Deutsche Bank will follow at a later stage.
Dominik Hennen, head of personal banking at Deutsche Bank, highlights that “Wero is more than just another payment app. It represents progress towards a standardized European payment framework.” He expresses excitement about offering a solution that simplifies cross-border payments for customers.
Next year, Wero will expand its functionalities to include payments to small professionals, online merchant payments, and invoice payments via QR code. Consumers will also be able to manage recurring payments for subscriptions and installments, as well as make in-app payments at the point of sale without interaction with the cashier.
Further enhancements planned for 2026 include in-store payments at cash registers and additional features like buy now, pay later (BNPL), merchant loyalty programs, and expense sharing.
The European Payments Initiative is in discussions with other banks about joining the project in 2025. Martina Weimert, CEO of EPI, notes, “With the phased launch of Wero in three European countries complete, our focus now shifts to expanding our market presence, including onboarding more banks and enhancing features, while accelerating advances in commercial payments by collaborating with merchants and their service providers. We are committed to progressively building Wero into a true success story for Europe.”