Wero: Building the New Unified European Payment Super-Infrastructure

The future of the European payments market involves more than just technical upgrades; it also represents a fundamental shift in how the continent approaches digital sovereignty, user experience (UX), and financial infrastructure. This was the core theme of our latest Business Breakfast event in Amsterdam, where industry leaders gathered to dissect the transition from local legacy systems to a unified future. We spoke with Amos Kater, Chief Product Officer (CPO) of Currence iDEAL, about why the Netherlands' most dominant payment service provider – the established market standard – is evolving for a greater, pan-European goal.

 

We gathered in the heart of Amsterdam’s business district, within the elegant walls of Café Restaurant Dauphine, to talk about one of the continent’s most pressing fintech questions: Can Europe establish a unified digital payment standard that rivals global giants? Nothing proves the relevance of the topic better than the composition of the audience: from ING to Adyen and ABN AMRO, numerous industry players were keen to discuss the evolution of iDEAL and how it will serve as the foundation for Wero’s pan-European vision.

To understand the scale of this shift, we must first define what Wero actually is. Launched by the European Payments Initiative (EPI), Wero is a pan-European, account-to-account (A2A) payment solution built on the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer framework. Unlike traditional card schemes, Wero enables direct, real-time transfers between bank accounts, aiming to replace fragmented local systems with a single, sovereign European digital wallet and payment standard. In practice, this means creating a seamless bridge between national banking systems, allowing for secure, instant transactions across borders.

In the Netherlands, iDEAL is not just a payment method; it’s also the default infrastructure. It processes over 1.5 billion transactions annually, and consumer trust is unshakable. Why change a winning formula? The answer lies in the global power dynamics behind the scenes, the imperative of scalability, and the need for a solution that transcends national borders.

The Strategic Vision: Why Do We Need Wero?

Amos Kater shed light on the driving forces behind EPI and the creation of Wero. The initiative is rooted in hard business rationality and the strategic necessity to establish a robust European infrastructure. While iDEAL is highly successful on its own, it is, by global standards, a local hero. In a digital economy dominated by global tech giants and card schemes, being strong locally is no longer sufficient to ensure long-term competitiveness and autonomy.

Wero’s strategy is built on uniting the Benelux countries, France, and Germany. These five nations cover nearly 60% of European electronic payment volumes. This represents the critical mass needed to gain bargaining power, amortize development costs, and make the ecosystem economically viable. EPI has acquired majority control of the iDEAL payment system (moving towards 100%), meaning the former owner, Dutch banks (ING, Rabobank, ABN AMRO), have now joined EPI as shareholders.

The goal is clear: to create a unified, A2A European payment standard. Unlike card-based payments that run on legacy rails owned by non-European entities, A2A payments settle directly between banks. This reduces intermediaries and keeps the value chain within the European banking ecosystem.

The original vision of EPI was broad, initially launching with card and online solutions across a wider circle of banks. However, after initial consultations, the focus was narrowed to A2A and online payments to ensure effective execution. The French and German founders realized that to achieve a dominant position, they needed the high-volume, high-trust environment of the Benelux region.

Wero’s development is intrinsically linked to the broader European regulatory framework, acting as a market-led companion to initiatives like the Payment Services Directive 3 (PSD3) and the Payment Services Regulation (PSR). By mandating instant payments across the eurozone, these regulations provide the perfect tailwind for Wero’s adoption. Furthermore, the initiative aligns with the European Digital Identity (EUDI) wallet project, positioning Wero as the primary payment engine within a future sovereign digital identity ecosystem.

The UX Challenges: Migrating a Nation’s Trust

Replacing a deeply embedded system with a transaction volume of 1.5 billion is perhaps the ultimate UX challenge. How do you explain to the user that the familiar pink logo is disappearing, and they must look for an unknown "Wero" label instead?

During the discussion, Kater emphasized the psychological difficulty of this transition. Dutch users are so accustomed to the current iDEAL flows that any change – even if objectively better from a usability standpoint – could be perceived as friction. "Dutch consumers are used to their processes," Kater noted. "Any deviation requires explanation."

Therefore, the technical switch will be preceded by a massive, carefully orchestrated education campaign starting in January. Issuing banks will play a pivotal role here: they must "transfer" the decades of trust placed in iDEAL to the new brand before the technical transition occurs. If the bank app says Wero is safe, the consumer is more likely to believe it than if a merchant simply changes a logo.

Kater outlined a precise migration plan for 2026, structured around a coordinated strategy between issuers and merchants. The process begins in January, with issuing banks deploying in-app educational modules and direct messaging to establish Wero as a trusted security layer. The first phase, lasting until April, focuses on visual continuity; merchants will implement a transitional dual-branded logo to provide visual confirmation at the point of purchase. By the second quarter, the focus shifts to technical stability. While the user interface remains stable, the Rail Selection Mechanism (RSM) – the core technical logic of the migration – will be tested live to manage the intelligent routing of transactions to the EPI infrastructure. This will allow engineering teams to monitor conversion rates and system stability in a live environment.

Following this validation, the process will move into its final phase in October: a phased, merchant-by-merchant migration where the transitional iDEAL-Wero presence will be replaced by full Wero transactions. Throughout this journey, EPI will provide the central clearing and settlement infrastructure. This phased approach minimizes operational risk while ensuring that every stakeholder in the ecosystem knows exactly when and how to switch.

Purchase Protection: Elevating the Standard

But what does the user get in return for this disruption? One of the shortcomings of the legacy system was the lack of formal buyer protection. In Dutch culture, high societal trust meant that "we paid and hoped for the best," Kater noted. Wero introduces Purchase Protection, a significant upgrade in consumer rights.

It is important to distinguish this from the automatic chargeback systems known in the credit card world. The Wero model is designed to be fairer to merchants while protecting consumers. In practice, Purchase Protection operates as a structured digital dispute engine integrated directly into the payment flow. When a consumer identifies an issue – such as a non-delivered item – they initiate the process within their banking app, which triggers an automated notification to the merchant via the Wero application programming interface (API). This creates a period for bilateral resolution. If the merchant fails to respond or a deadlock occurs, the system automatically escalates the case to the respective banks, acting as a mediator. Only in unresolved high-level disputes does the EPI scheme owner intervene as the final arbiter, ensuring a transparent audit trail for both parties.

From a UX perspective, this adds a layer of security that makes Wero competitive, not just with iDEAL, but with international card schemes and PayPal, especially for cross-border purchases where trust in the merchant might be lower.

Breaking Down Borders

The true promise of Wero lies in solving the fragmentation of the European market. Today, for a Dutch user to send money to France is an administrative hurdle involving IBANs, address book entries, and bank approvals. Wero envisions this becoming as simple as sending an instant payment request to a neighbor.

However, Wero does not aim for the absorption of local payment methods. The strategy is one of smart cooperation. Kater explained that in markets with strong local players – such as Vipps in Norway, MobilePay in Denmark, or Swish in Sweden – the goal is interoperability. This framework can be broadly compared to roaming in telecommunications. Ideally, users could use their Wero app to pay at a merchant that accepts Vipps, with a technical switch in the background handling the interoperability. This approach respects the local market leaders while weaving them into a unified European fabric.

Innovation Beyond the Transaction

The conversation moved beyond standard payments to advanced features that legacy systems cannot handle, with Wero introducing functionality that modernizes how we manage our financial lives. A prime example is subscription management. For this, Wero replaces the traditional, often opaque direct debit mandate with a dedicated subscription token. During the first transaction, the user provides a one-time, cryptographically secure consent within their banking app. This token allows the merchant to trigger transfers for subsequent billing cycles, while giving the user a real-time dashboard to track or revoke payments instantly, a feature legacy systems cannot offer.

Another major innovation is the Pay by Event function, which bridges the gap between the security of pre-payment and the consumer confidence of cash on delivery. In this flow, the buyer pre-authorizes the amount, but the actual charge occurs only upon a specific trigger, such as the delivery of a package. This functionality represents a shift toward more intelligent transaction models, offering users the assurance that payment is directly tied to the successful completion of a service or delivery.

An interesting debate emerged regarding Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services. While popular in markets like Germany and among younger demographics globally, the Dutch market has traditionally been debt-averse. Kater noted that while Wero has BNPL capabilities on its roadmap, the implementation must be handled with care regarding financial health, suggesting that there is a thin line between convenience and encouraging overspending.

POS Payments: The Case for NFC over QR

The discussion also touched upon technological implementation in physical stores (POS). Many fintech enthusiasts see QR code payments as the future, citing the success of Asian markets. Kater was keen to clarify that while QR codes remain a fundamental part of Wero’s online proposition and are crucial in the physical domain for specific niches – such as charitable donations – general retail demands a different approach. He noted that the ubiquity of QR payments in Asian markets largely stems from those regions leapfrogging the contactless card revolution. In Europe, where contactless infrastructure is mature, the UX of a simple near field communication (NFC) tap is far superior to the friction of unlocking a phone and scanning a code.

Consequently, for standard in-store transactions, Wero is betting on NFC technology, leveraging the opening of NFC interfaces on mobile platforms (facilitated by regulations like the EU Digital Markets Act). Wero's strategy builds on the trust consumers have in their banks, offering a tap-to-pay alternative integrated directly into the banking app. It competes with the digital wallets by being European, bank-backed, and integrated into the user's primary financial dashboard.

AI, Agentic Commerce, and the Paradox of Friction

In the closing segment, the conversation turned to the buzzword of the times: artificial intelligence (AI). Would Wero integrate AI to predict purchases or automate shopping (Agentic Commerce)? Kater expressed a refreshing skepticism. While AI is on the radar, it is not an immediate priority on the roadmap. He introduced an interesting concept: the user's desire for friction.

"People want to feel control when they pay," Kater argued. In an era of automated replenishment and AI-driven suggestions, the act of authorizing a payment is a moment of control. Completely removing this friction – having AI buy dog food automatically because it predicts you are running low – might actually be undesirable for many consumers who want to actively manage their budget. Wero, therefore, focuses on removing unnecessary administrative friction (like typing IBANs) while retaining the necessary friction of conscious authorization.

A Realistic Path to Sovereignty

Wero is more than just another logo at the bottom of webshops; it is Europe’s answer to changed geopolitical realities. The project is positioned to cover the entire continent, even outside the eurozone.

Wero is therefore more than the technical successor to iDEAL: this project is Europe’s realistic chance for digital self-determination, creating the sustainable business model that has been missing from the fragmented European market. It is a massive undertaking, but for the first time in years, Europe seems to have a unified strategy to achieve it. Wero's success depends on whether we recognize the new market reality: to survive today, it is no longer enough to be good – one must also be big.