Wero expands into Austria as Europe’s payments ambitions gather momentum

The European Payments Initiative (EPI) has secured a significant boost to its ambitions of creating a pan-European payments network, with Austria’s largest banking groups joining the organisation and committing to the rollout of the Wero digital wallet.

Wero expands into Austria

The decision by Erste Bank Oesterreich and the Raiffeisen banking network to become shareholders in EPI marks another important milestone in the expansion of Wero, the account-to-account payment solution designed to provide a European alternative to international card schemes.

As Europe seeks greater strategic autonomy in payments, the Austrian expansion demonstrates growing support among financial institutions for a sovereign payments infrastructure built and governed within the region.

Austria Becomes a Strategic Growth Market

With a population of approximately nine million people and a highly developed banking sector, Austria represents an attractive growth market for Wero. The participation of Erste Bank Oesterreich and Raiffeisen, which together serve the majority of Austrian banking customers, provides the initiative with immediate scale and market credibility.

Raiffeisen’s involvement includes both Raiffeisen Bank International and several regional Landesbanken, strengthening EPI’s footprint in Central Europe and extending the reach of the Wero ecosystem.

For EPI, securing support from major domestic banking institutions remains central to its expansion strategy. Rather than building a standalone consumer proposition, Wero is being embedded directly into existing banking relationships, enabling faster adoption and broader acceptance among consumers and merchants.

Building a European Alternative

Wero was launched to address a longstanding gap in the European payments landscape. While Europe operates some of the world’s most advanced payment infrastructures, retail payments remain heavily dependent on international card schemes and non-European technology providers.

The platform leverages SEPA Instant Payment rails to enable real-time account-to-account transactions and has already attracted more than 55 million users across Belgium, France and Germany. Retail payment functionality is now being progressively rolled out across those markets, while additional expansion is planned in Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Significantly, EPI also intends to migrate existing domestic payment communities onto the platform. Planned integrations involving Luxembourg’s Payconiq and the Netherlands’ iDEAL scheme could add at least 15 million additional users over the next two years.

The Next Phase of European Payments

The Austrian expansion comes as Wero prepares to broaden its capabilities beyond peer-to-peer payments. Point-of-sale transactions are scheduled to launch in 2026, alongside value-added services including loyalty programme integration, recurring payments and subscription management.

These developments are designed to transform Wero from a simple account-to-account payment tool into a comprehensive digital wallet capable of competing more directly with established global payment brands.

While Visa and Mastercard continue to dominate European consumer payments, Wero’s growing shareholder base, expanding user community and increasing functionality suggest that Europe’s long-discussed ambition for a home-grown payments champion is beginning to take tangible shape. Austria’s entry into the initiative represents another important step towards creating a truly pan-European payments network capable of operating at meaningful scale.