ACI Worldwide has collaborated with the European Payments Initiative (EPI) to accelerate the adoption of Instant Payments in Europe. This collaboration would see ACI adopt the Wero digital wallet within its Payments Orchestration Platform. This will enable merchants and financial intermediaries to provide Instant Payments via Wero for consumers and businesses.
Wero is an all-Europe digital wallet that has been designed based on the SEPA instant payment infrastructure. It makes payments across Europe easier while offering P2P payments, e-commerce payments, and point-of-sale payments. The service was rolled out by EPI in 2024, supported by 16 banks and other financial institutions in Europe. At present, individuals in Belgium, France, and Germany make instant account-to-account payments using the service.
At the same time, EPI aims to extend Wero to Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Moreover, EPI evaluates other prospects for expansion within Europe. As of late 2025, Wero has been available in Germany and Belgium for online payments. Also, EPI plans to roll out the subscriptions in the coming years. By this year, French customers should be able to pay online through Wero. In-store payment functions are set to go live in 2027.
The collaboration will assist in addressing the increasing demand for Instant Payments on the European market. Besides, the EU Instant Payments Regulation came into force in January 2025. Hence, all the financial institutions and payment service providers in the Eurozone should support instant payments.
Instant Payments Take Off across Europe
According to ACI’s Prime Time for Real-Time report, the market is expected to grow substantially. From 17.2 billion transactions in 2023, they may reach 38.6 billion by 2028. Furthermore, instant payments may make up 13% of all electronic payments in Europe in 2028.
“We are excited to announce our strategic partnership with EPI to make Wero a success across Europe,” commented Nick Craig, head of Europe, ACI Worldwide. “This collaboration leverages ACI’s advanced instant payment processing capabilities to address the fragmentation of payment methods in Europe, providing a unified solution which enables a seamless, secure and efficient payment experience for consumers and merchants. Wero will be an important addition to ACI’s best-in-class Payments Orchestration Platform, which has the industry’s widest reach of acquirers and APMs.”
“Seeing ACI joining EPI members’ ranks is a new step towards massive availability of Wero across our core markets and beyond. Through the integration onto ACI’s platform, all their merchants and their customers will be able to integrate Wero as a new payment solution, empowering their business and Europe’s resilience at large. Together, we are helping accelerate the development of a more connected, innovative and resilient European payments ecosystem,” said Martina Weimert, CEO of EPI.
Currently, ACI supports 26 domestic and pan-regional instant payment schemes worldwide. The company also enables payments on behalf of 11 central infrastructures and serves three billion customers in its payment network ecosystem.
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News Source: Businesswire.com
