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The European Payments Initiative (EPI) has secured another important ally in its ambition to create a pan-European alternative to international card schemes, with ACI Worldwide agreeing to integrate the Wero digital wallet into its payments orchestration platform.
ACI Worldwide joins Wero push
The move represents more than a simple technology partnership. It reflects the growing momentum behind Europe’s efforts to build a sovereign payments ecosystem capable of reducing reliance on global card networks while accelerating the adoption of instant account-to-account payments.
Founded by a consortium of 16 European banks and payment service providers, EPI was established to create a unified European payment solution that can compete with established players such as Visa and Mastercard.
Its flagship product, Wero, operates on SEPA Instant Credit Transfer rails, enabling real-time account-to-account payments across participating markets.
Expanding Reach Across Europe
Since launching peer-to-peer payments in Belgium, France and Germany in 2024, Wero has grown rapidly, reaching approximately 53 million users. The initiative is now preparing to expand into Luxembourg and the Netherlands, while broadening its functionality beyond person-to-person transfers.
Online payments have already been introduced in Germany and Belgium, with France expected to follow later this year. In-store payments are planned for 2027, alongside additional services such as subscription management and other value-added capabilities.
The integration with ACI Worldwide is significant because it immediately broadens Wero’s potential distribution network. Through ACI’s Payments Orchestration Platform, merchants and financial intermediaries across Europe will be able to offer Wero as a payment option without requiring complex standalone integrations.
For merchants, this simplifies access to a rapidly growing payment scheme. For EPI, it provides an efficient route to market through an established global payments infrastructure provider.
The Instant Payments Opportunity
The partnership also comes at a pivotal moment for European payments. The EU Instant Payments Regulation, which came into force in 2025, requires banks and payment service providers across the Eurozone to support instant payments.
As regulatory barriers fall and infrastructure improves, industry forecasts suggest substantial growth in real-time payments adoption. According to ACI Worldwide’s projections, instant payment volumes in Europe are expected to increase from 17.2 billion transactions in 2023 to 38.6 billion by 2028.
This growth creates a favourable environment for Wero, which is designed from the outset around instant payment rails rather than traditional card infrastructure.
A Strategic Shift in European Payments
Beyond technology, the collaboration highlights a broader strategic objective. European policymakers and financial institutions have become increasingly vocal about strengthening the region’s payments autonomy amid concerns over dependence on non-European networks and providers.
By combining EPI’s consumer-facing wallet proposition with ACI’s extensive payments infrastructure capabilities, the partnership could accelerate the development of a more integrated European payments landscape.
Whether Wero ultimately emerges as a genuine challenger to Visa and Mastercard remains uncertain. However, the addition of ACI Worldwide demonstrates that support for a European-owned payments alternative is continuing to gather pace, transforming what was once viewed as an ambitious concept into an increasingly credible market proposition.
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