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The European Payments Initiative (EPI) and Germany’s Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken cooperative financial network have  the successful completion of the first end-to-end Wero e-commerce payment transaction. 

Wero is the mobile payments platform created by the EPI, a coalition of EU banks with political backing from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and members of the European Parliament. 

The proof-of-concept (POC) transaction was conducted between late November and mid-December on the online shop of 1. FC Kaiserslautern, a German football club. 

It was facilitated by VR Payment, a payment provider owned by the DZ Bank Group, and two participating pilot banks.

“Ever since the beginning of the Wero launch discussions, we were convinced we wanted to try it out,” said Thomas Hengen, CEO, 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

“Wero offers us and our clients a seamless experience, while being easy to implement, and it is competitive with regards to other options on the market. It is also European, which for a European football club is a key asset,” he added. 

Further trials are now planned throughout early 2025 to refine the solution ahead of its market launch.

“This POC is another key step towards our retail market entry into commercial payments, as foreseen,” said Martina Weimert, CEO of EPI. 

Weimert explained that the aim was to prove that the EPI’s solution is working well end-to-end and is “as simple, secure, and effective as we’ve been advocating for”. 

“Now we are entering the next phase and preparing for the broad introduction in the coming months,” said Weimert. 

Wero's broader rollout is set to begin in Germany in Summer 2025, with Belgium and France to follow in late 2025 and early 2026 respectively.