European Payments Initiative (EPI)
European bank-backed operator of Wero instant account-to-account payments.
Available information varies by company and source.
Profile record updated:
Company facts
- Official name
- EPI Company SE
- Entity type
- COMPANY
- Founded
- 2020
- Headquarters
- Belgium
- Company size
- 10–49
- Market role
- Other / Non-Digital Advertising Relevant
- Official website
- epicompany.eu
What European Payments Initiative (EPI) does
EPI operates a bank-backed payment scheme and proprietary wallet infrastructure. Participating banks provide consumer distribution and account connectivity, while acquirers and payment service providers integrate merchant acceptance. Wero routes instant account-to-account payment flows across peer-to-peer, online and in-store use cases, creating value by replacing or complementing card and international-wallet payment rails with a European bank-account-based alternative.
Category differentiation
EPI Company SE is the operator of the European Payments Initiative and Wero, not a general advertising-technology company or a conventional card network. It is distinct from the European Central Bank's proposed digital euro, although Wero may become a distribution interface for it.
Strategic context
AI-supported assessment from the existing company research; distinguish interpretation from sourced facts.
EPI Company SE is a Belgian regulated payment institution operating the European Payments Initiative. It develops Wero, a pan-European digital wallet and instant account-to-account payment scheme built on SEPA Instant Credit Transfer infrastructure. Wero supports peer-to-peer transfers, merchant payment requests, e-commerce checkout, QR-code in-store payments, subscriptions, instalments, pre-authorisations, refunds and deferred payment flows. The company serves participating banks, payment service providers, acquirers, merchants and consumers. EPI earns payment-scheme and processing economics from merchant acceptance, while consumer payments are free. Merchant access is distributed through acquirers and payment providers and is priced as a percentage transaction fee with built-in caps.
Company news briefing
Briefing updated:
The European Payments Initiative (EPI) has expanded its Wero payment network, reaching 10 million registered users in Germany and 60 million across Europe amid ongoing efforts to increase merchant adoption and market awareness. Major retailers such as dm and Amazon have integrated Wero into their checkout systems, while the German Bundesbank has proposed embedding the upcoming digital euro into the wallet to bolster European payment sovereignty. Despite this growth, surveys indicate that consumer brand awareness and active regular usage remain key challenges as the initiative competes against established US providers.
Business model & monetisation
EPI uses a two-sided payment model. Consumers do not pay Wero transaction fees for online purchases. Merchants access the scheme through participating acquirers and payment service providers and pay a small percentage fee per transaction with built-in caps. EPI monetises payment-processing and scheme economics across e-commerce, physical merchant acceptance, subscriptions, instalments, refunds and deferred transaction flows.
- Merchant payment transaction fees
- Percentage fee with built-in caps through acquirers and payment service providers
- Payment processing and scheme economics
- Pay-per-use transaction processing across Wero payment flows
- Recurring and deferred payment flows
- Transaction-based revenues from subscriptions, instalments and pre-authorised payments
Products & capabilities
No products with linked sources are available in this view.
Products & market categories
Technology
Recent recorded signals
Dates refer to the source publication. Older entries are historical context, not evidence of a new event.
Wero Reaches Ten Million Users in Germany
Payments · Recorded impact score: 2/5
The European payment initiative Wero has reached 10 million registered users in Germany and 60 million in Europe, marking a significant milestone. The initiative, backed by European banks, initially launched as a peer-to-peer payment solution in 2024. It is now expanding into e-commerce and point-of-sale (POS) payments, with retailers like Lidl and dm integrating Wero into their online checkouts. The next challenge is converting user registrations into regular transactions and expanding merchant acceptance, particularly in physical stores. EPI has begun initial in-store Wero payments in Belgium, but a broader German POS rollout is still pending. The initiative aims to create a pan-European payment alternative based on SEPA instant payments, reducing reliance on non-European card schemes. Payment service providers like Nexi and BNP Paribas are key to accelerating merchant adoption.
- Wero reached 10 million users in Germany and 60 million in Europe.
- Lidl introduced Wero as payment option in its German online shop in July 2026.
Bundesbank Proposes Digital Euro in Wero Wallet
Digital Payments / Central Bank Digital Currency · Recorded impact score: 3/5
The German Bundesbank proposed integrating the digital euro into the Wero wallet to strengthen European payment sovereignty and reduce dependence on US payment providers. Bundesbank board member Lutz Lienenkämper suggested at a Bundesbank symposium in Frankfurt that embedding the digital euro in Wero could increase the reach of European payment offerings and encourage interoperability. Wero is promoted by the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and, since July 2024, offers peer-to-peer mobile payments and merchant acceptance similar to PayPal and card-based wallets. Wero currently reports 57 million registered users across Belgium, France and Germany; rollout to the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Austria is in progress. The European Central Bank aims for a possible digital euro introduction no earlier than 2029, a plan that has drawn criticism over costs.
- The Bundesbank proposed integrating the digital euro into the Wero wallet to increase European payment sovereignty.
- Wero is promoted by the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and began offering P2P mobile payments in July 2024.
Wero still unknown to most Germans after two years
Payments / Commerce · Recorded impact score: 2/5
Wero, the European payments initiative backed by banks, is struggling to gain traction against US competitors like PayPal. Launched in July 2024 by the European Payments Initiative (EPI), it remains little-known: a July 2026 Verivox/Innofact survey of 1,002 German adults found 39% correctly identified it as a payment service, 31% had never heard of it, and 23% knew only the name. Active usage is ~7%, up from 4% a year earlier, with 14% having linked a bank account. EPI reports 57 million registered users across Belgium, France, and Germany (9 million in Germany), versus PayPal's 35 million active accounts in Germany alone. Expansion has added e-commerce checkout in November 2025 and plans in-store rollout in 2026, with new bank partners like N26 and Targobank. However, merchant acceptance remains limited to a few large retailers (e.g., Lidl, Decathlon, Eventim, Rossmann), and reliance on AWS poses a geopolitical risk. Despite reduced losses, ongoing funding needs and skepticism about competing with U.S. rivals persist; 58% of survey respondents doubt Wero's ability to compete with PayPal, Visa, or Mastercard. Expansion into the Netherlands and Luxembourg is underway, with Austria planned for 2027.
- Verivox/Innofact July 2026 survey: 39% correctly identified Wero as a payment service, 31% never heard of it, 23% knew only the name; ~7% actively use it (up from 4% last year), 14% linked a bank account; 58% doubt it can compete with PayPal, Visa, or Mastercard.
- EPI reports 57 million registered Wero users across Belgium, France, and Germany (9 million in Germany), versus PayPal's 35 million active accounts in Germany alone.
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Questions about European Payments Initiative (EPI)
What is European Payments Initiative (EPI)?
EPI Company SE is a Belgian regulated payment institution that operates Wero, a European digital wallet and instant account-to-account payment scheme.
Who uses Wero?
Wero is used by consumers through participating banks and the Wero app, and by merchants, acquirers, banks and payment service providers for payment acceptance and processing.
How does EPI make money?
EPI earns payment-scheme and processing revenue from merchant transactions, principally through percentage fees with caps charged via acquirers and payment service providers.
Sources & coverage
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20 publicly documented primary sources and citations linked across the market graph.
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