ACI Worldwide, a pioneer in international payments technology, has become a key member of the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and will incorporate EPI’s Wero wallet solution into ACI’s top-tier Payments Orchestration Platform.
With this strategic partnership, merchants and financial intermediaries throughout Europe will have the opportunity to provide Wero as a new payment option for consumers and businesses.
Wero is a digital wallet solution operating across Europe that utilizes SEPA instant payment systems. Its goal is to consolidate and simplify payments throughout Europe, facilitating peer-to-peer transactions, online shopping, and in-store purchases, in addition to other value-added services.
Introduced in 2024 by EPI, which was established by a group of 16 European banks and financial services firms, Wero now provides immediate account-to-account payments to users in Belgium, France, and Germany.
EPI intends to broaden the service throughout Europe by adding Luxembourg and the Netherlands in the near future and is still seeking possibilities in additional countries. As of fall 2025, users in Germany and recently Belgium can make online payments using their Wero digital wallet, with more features such as subscriptions expected to roll out in the upcoming years. French shoppers will enjoy comparable services this fall, with in-store payment methods expected to be introduced in 2027.
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Wero is anticipated to boost consumer acceptance of instant payments and enhance the volume of instant payments throughout Europe. The EU Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) took effect in January 2025, mandating that all banks and payment service providers (PSPs) within the Eurozone must be capable of receiving and sending instant payments to clients.
Alongside the incorporation of Wero into ACI’s Payments Orchestration Platform, ACI facilitates instant payment systems throughout Europe, providing banks and PSPs with direct instant payment access and payment orchestration.
Based on ACI’s latest Prime Time for Real-Time report, instant payment transactions in Europe are projected to rise from 17.2 billion in 2023 to 38.6 billion by 2028, with forecasts suggesting they will represent 13% of all electronic payments in Europe by 2028, an increase from 8% in 2023.
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Nick Craig, head of Europe, ACI Worldwide says, “We are excited to announce our strategic partnership with EPI to make Wero a success across Europe. 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.”
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“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,” says Martina Weimert, CEO of EPI.