ACI Worldwide, a global payments technology firm listed on NASDAQ, has become a principal member of the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and will integrate the Wero digital wallet into its Payments Orchestration Platform, opening the solution to merchants and financial intermediaries across Europe.
Through the partnership, Wero will be added to ACI's platform as a new payment method available to consumers and businesses. The integration gives ACI's merchant base direct access to Wero's account-to-account payment capability, which runs on SEPA instant payment infrastructure.
Wero was launched in 2024 by EPI, a consortium of 16 European banks and financial services companies. It currently provides instant account-to-account payments to consumers in Belgium, France and Germany, with plans to extend the service to Luxembourg and the Netherlands in the coming months.
Online payments using the Wero wallet are already live in Germany and Belgium, with French consumers expected to gain access to similar functionality in autumn this year. In-store payments are not anticipated until 2027, and subscription-based services are also planned further down the line.
The partnership arrives against the backdrop of the EU Instant Payments Regulation, which came into force in January 2025 and requires all banks and payment service providers across the Eurozone to be capable of both sending and receiving instant payments. ACI already connects banks and PSPs to instant payment rails directly across the continent. Its most recent Prime Time for Real-Time report projects that instant payment transactions in Europe will rise from 17.2 billion in 2023 to 38.6 billion by 2028, with the share of all electronic payments they represent growing from 8% to 13% over the same period.
ACI Worldwide currently powers 26 domestic and pan-regional instant payment schemes spanning six continents, including 11 central infrastructures. Its solutions serve central banks, participant banks, FinTechs and other payment service providers. The company's global footprint covers roughly one-third of all countries offering instant payment services, reaching approximately 3 billion people across central governments, payment networks, banks and financial institutions.
ACI Worldwide head of Europe Nick Craig said, '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.'
EPI CEO Martina Weimert said, '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.'