Wero, the instant payment solution backed by the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and its sixteen shareholders, is struggling to gain traction—despite the initiative’s claim of a user base exceeding 40 million. Originally launched as an ambitious project, it now faces numerous challenges, including the withdrawal of some shareholders, delays in its rollout, and difficulties in uniting key players across the European payments landscape. What are the main obstacles facing this initiative, which was meant to standardise SEPA payments in Europe? What alternatives are emerging? Let’s take a closer look.
The ambition of European initiatives: A response to the global dominance in payments
The European Payments Initiative (EPI), launched in 2020, and its recent payment solution Wero (2024) emerged as a response to Europe’s reliance on foreign—particularly American—payment providers such as PayPal and Visa. These initiatives aim to unify and modernise payments across the eurozone. Wero already allows users to send and receive money instantly via phone number, QR code, or email address.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The objective, backed by the European Commission, is clear: to offer a European alternative for cross-border payments, aiming to streamline SEPA transactions, accelerate payment flows, and strengthen the EU’s financial sovereignty.
Major obstacles to adoption: Complexity, cost, and lack of accessibility
Currently, only 16 banks are involved in the EPI (including BNP Paribas, Groupe BPCE, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, ING Group, La Banque Postale, Nexi, Société Générale, Worldline), significantly limiting its adoption. Moreover, merchants must open a bank account with one of these institutions to use Wero, creating a substantial barrier to entry.
While the EPI positions itself as “a strong competitor to international payment networks,” its payment solution does not yet match the services offered by Visa and Mastercard. Initially conceived as a direct competitor to these global players, the project’s ambitions were scaled back in early 2022 with the abandonment of plans to launch a physical payment card.
The number of EPI/Wero shareholders has dropped from over 30 to just 16. As a result, adoption remains slow—particularly in Germany, which accounts for only 5% of Wero’s transaction volume, according to the Deputy CEO of Crédit Agricole SA.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataTo bypass this limitation, many merchants go through Payment Service Providers (PSPs). Since they are positioned as the biggest contributors to the payments ecosystem, by excluding them from its model, Wero presents itself as a relatively elitist product that does not take the majority markets into account. As a result, users of these PSPs do not fully benefit from the advantages of SEPA Instant, particularly in terms of the speed of fund reception and liquidity availability.
Due to these obstacles, SEPA Instant payments often remain out of reach for a large portion of merchants, who continue to rely on slower and more costly solutions.
Multichannel SEPA solutions: A streamlined and independent alternative for merchants
Given the slow progress and limited accessibility of European payment initiatives such as EPI and Wero, alternative solutions have emerged—offering simpler, more flexible integration for (e-)merchants. Some of these platforms go as far as orchestrating all SEPA payment methods within a single system—centralising transactions, automating fund collection, and integrating a professional bank account, all without relying on a specific bank or third-party provider.
For merchants, these solutions offer greater simplicity, lower costs, improved cash flow management, and direct access to instant payments—without intermediaries or added complexity. As such, they represent a powerful option for businesses of all sizes, including artisans, freelancers, and small to medium enterprises.
Only solutions that truly address merchants’ core needs—cost control, simplicity, and seamless integration—will gain their trust, serve as essential complements to European payment initiatives, and succeed in a global market that is becoming increasingly competitive. For EPI and Wero to truly take off, broader participation from banks and PSPs is crucial, as well as easier access for merchants—an aspect that has so far been largely overlooked.
In conclusion, (e-)merchants have reason to be optimistic: comprehensive European payment tools do exist. What’s still needed is greater optimisation and standardisation of mobile applications to unlock their full potential. According to early projections from fintech experts, SEPA orchestration solutions could account for 10% to 15% of all e-commerce transactions by 2026.
Christian Caumont is CEO of YowPay
