A competitor to Visa and Mastercard begins operating in Europe
The Wero service was launched by the European Payments Initiative (EPI), which brings together 16 banks and financial institutions
The service is currently available to some customers, and in the second half of the year it will be integrated into the apps of the French financial conglomerate BNP Paribas, the Dutch bank ING and the pan-European bank Société Générale.
The Wero digital wallet was created on the basis of the Payconiq and iDEAL systems. In 2025–2026, it is planned to add online payments and bill payments using QR codes, as well as installment payments.
The initiative is intended to strengthen the independence of Europe’s financial infrastructure: according to the European Central Bank, international providers account for 64% of card-based electronic transactions in the euro area. At the same time, EPI remains a private project and does not replace the digital euro currently being prepared.
