European technology bank Viva.com has joined the European Payments Initiative (EPI), integrating the Wero digital wallet into its payment acceptance platform. The move enables merchants across Europe to accept instant account-to-account (A2A) payments alongside traditional card payments, supporting the expansion of Europe’s homegrown digital payments ecosystem.
European technology bank Viva.com has joined the European Payments Initiative (EPI), integrating the EPI-backed Wero digital wallet into its cloud-based payments and banking platform. The strategic membership reinforces Viva.com’s operational footprint across 29 European markets, allowing merchants to accept instant account-to-account (A2A) transfers alongside standard card rails. The rollout will initiate across Belgium, France, and Germany, with secondary geographic expansions planned as the Wero scheme broadens its regional footprint.
The partnership incorporates Wero into Viva.com’s omni-channel acceptance network, which already supports more than 40 distinct payment methods across digital e-commerce checkouts and point-of-sale systems. Merchant clients using Viva.com’s terminal applications, integrated smart hardware, and online payment gateways will be able to activate Wero directly without altering their underlying core integration. As the digital wallet scheme introduces Near Field Communication (NFC) capabilities for physical retail locations, Viva.com plans to expand its support to cover contactless, in-store account-to-account payments at traditional checkout registers.
The integration targets a growing shift toward sovereign account-to-account rails designed to lessen reliance on international card networks. Wero currently reaches over 57 million users across Europe, providing consumers with direct, instant bank transfers. Stefan Waterdrinker, Senior Vice President of Strategy at Viva.com, stated that direct connectivity to local payment schemes remains central to the bank’s European strategy, noting that adding Wero provides businesses with a crucial emerging payment channel on a single unified platform. Martina Weimert, Chief Executive Officer of EPI, added that onboarding Viva.com accelerates Wero’s commercial adoption across e-commerce and retail storefronts, moving closer toward a unified payment ecosystem built natively for the European market.
What it means for the industry
- Accelerates mainstream adoption of account-to-account (A2A) payments by making Wero available through an established merchant acquiring platform with minimal integration effort.
- Strengthens Europe’s alternative to global card networks, supporting the region’s push for greater payment sovereignty and reduced dependence on international schemes.
- Expands merchant acceptance of instant payments, giving businesses more payment choice while improving the speed of settlement and customer experience.
- Signals growing momentum behind the European Payments Initiative (EPI), as more payment providers and financial institutions back Wero as a pan-European payment solution.
- Encourages greater competition and innovation in the payments market, prompting acquirers, banks, and fintechs to broaden their instant payment and digital wallet offerings.
- Paves the way for broader omnichannel A2A acceptance, with the planned rollout of NFC-enabled in-store payments bringing account-to-account transactions closer to competing with traditional card payments at the point of sale.
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