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Five new European banks have joined the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and will begin to roll out Wero to their customers.
Belgian banks Argenta, Bank Van Breda, Beobank, Crelan and vdk bank will offer the digital wallet and instant account-to-account (A2A) payment solution from the first half of 2026.
Bank Van Breda will offer the Wero standalone app, which its customers can download from the Apple App or Google Play Store, while the other four banks will be able to access Wero via their banking apps.
Dirk Wouters, chief executive officer of Bank Van Breda, said that integrating Wero into the bank’s offering from 2026 would empower its clients with a fast, secure, and intuitive way to manage their payments.
“At Bank Van Breda, we are proud to contribute to shaping a truly European digital payment solution”, he said.
“Our decision to offer Wero as a standalone app reflects our commitment to flexibility and customer-centric innovation, ensuring our clients can access seamless payment experiences on their own terms.”
Growing membership
The EPI’s expansion strengthens its footprint in Belgium and its growing membership underlines the increased adoption of Wero across Europe.
This latest development continues a busy summer for the network, which was launched in 2020.
In June 2025, it was joined by European fintech, Revolut and five Luxembourg-based banks.
Wero now has more than 40 million registered users and will start offering in-store payments, subscription management and loyalty services from 2026.
Koen Spinoy, member of the executive committee at Beobank, said integrating payment solutions such as Wero was a logical next step in the bank’s digital evolution.
“In line with our strong digital journey, mobile app usage at Beobank has grown by over 300% in just five years”, Spinoy said.
“Wero aligns perfectly with our commitment to provide innovative, secure, and convenient payment experiences that meet our customers’ everyday needs.”
Payments sovereignty concerns
The news of EPI’s latest expansion will be welcomed by the EU.
As concerns about payments sovereignty have grown in recent years, the bloc has been pushing for a domestic alternative to the big US card payment networks, Visa and Mastercard.
“Wero is about Europe, and it starts with the ‘we’ – the people – in their daily lives and local communities,” said Martina Weimert, CEO of the EPI.
“That’s why I’m particularly proud to see the number of members trusting us is growing. These new members’ local presence and close relationship with their customers will be essential to making Wero a trusted part of everyday payments across the continent. Together we are shaping a truly European solution rooted in the realities of everyone’s everyday life.”
In June 2025, EPI joined with another of Europe’s major payments schemes, EuroPA, to announce a new collaboration aimed at accelerating the development of sovereign, cross-border payment solutions for the continent.
EU concerns about payments sovereignty have been heightened by geopolitical volatility, with mounting concerns within the bloc about geopolitical uncertainty, including unpredictability in US leadership.
In addition, worldwide payments outages have underlined the risks of dependency on international payments networks. In March 2025, for example, a global Mastercard outage left customers unable to make payments across the world.
Last month, European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde urged the European parliament to move quickly on providing legislation for the digital euro, which offers another path to payments sovereignty.
Addressing the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), Lagarde said, “accelerating progress towards a digital euro is a strategic priority.”
