ACI joins EPI to expand Wero payments across Europe

ACI Worldwide has joined the European Payments Initiative as a principal member and will add EPI's Wero wallet to its payments orchestration platform.

The move will enable merchants and financial intermediaries across Europe to offer Wero as a payment option to consumers and businesses.

Wero is a pan-European digital wallet built on SEPA instant payment rails. It supports account-to-account payments and is designed for person-to-person transfers, online purchases and in-store transactions.

EPI launched the wallet in 2024 with backing from 16 European banks and financial services companies. The service currently offers instant account-to-account payments to consumers in Belgium, France and Germany and now serves 55 million users.

The agreement gives ACI a role in widening access to Wero through its existing connections with merchants, banks and payment service providers. ACI also operates an instant payments infrastructure in Europe and other regions, including domestic and pan-regional schemes.

Instant payments push

The partnership comes as instant payments take a more central role in European retail finance. The EU Instant Payments Regulation took effect in January 2025, requiring all banks and payment service providers in the eurozone to be able to receive and send instant payments to and from customers.

That regulatory shift has increased pressure on financial institutions to update payment systems and support new forms of bank-based digital payments. Wallets built on instant account-to-account transfers are being positioned as one response to Europe's fragmented payments market.

According to 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 in 2028. The report forecasts that instant payments will account for 13% of all electronic payments in Europe by 2028, up from 8% in 2023.

The Wero integration will sit alongside ACI's broader instant payments business. The company supports 26 domestic and pan-regional instant payment schemes across six continents, including 11 central infrastructures.

Globally, ACI says it covers about one-third of the countries offering instant payment services, reaching around 3 billion people through central governments, payment networks, banks, financial institutions and fintech companies.

Market expansion

Wero's rollout has so far focused on core eurozone markets. Since late 2025, consumers in Germany and Belgium have been able to use the wallet for online payments, while similar services are due to launch in France later this year.

The initiative is also preparing for broader geographic expansion. EPI plans to extend the service to Luxembourg and the Netherlands, with in-store payment options expected to follow.

The expansion matters because local payment methods remain deeply rooted across Europe, particularly in eCommerce. EPI aims to create a single wallet that can be used across borders, reducing dependence on a patchwork of national systems and international card networks.

For merchants, adding Wero via a single orchestration platform could simplify accepting another payment method without requiring a separate direct integration. For banks and intermediaries, it offers a way to support a regional wallet tied to instant bank transfers.

Nick Craig, Head of Europe at ACI Worldwide, described the tie-up as part of a broader effort to address the region's fragmented payments market.

"We are excited to announce our strategic partnership with EPI to make Wero a success across Europe," Craig said. "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."

EPI said ACI's entry as a principal member should help broaden the wallet's merchant distribution across its core markets and beyond.

"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.