Erste Bank and Raiffeisen Join European Payment System Wero

What Wero Is and Who Is Behind It

The EPI was founded with the goal of building a common European payment infrastructure that operates independently of non-European providers such as US card companies or global digital payment firms. At the core of the initiative is "Wero," a unified mobile payment service that offers European businesses and citizens a simple, secure, and fast solution for account-to-account payments. Users should be able to use a single app to make retail purchases as well as send money to other users — so-called P2P payments.

According to the EPI, Wero already has more than 55 million users. With further expansion into Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and now Austria, the service is entering a new growth phase across Europe. The Austrian partner banks, according to the EPI, serve the majority of Austrian banking customers and thus form a broad basis for market acceptance.

Voices from the EPI and the Banks

"The participation of Erste and Raiffeisen Bank strengthens our mission to build a resilient and truly Europe-wide payment network," says EPI chief Martina Weimert. The EPI emphasizes that the support "der Erste Bank Oesterreich und der Raiffeisen Banken, Österreichs größter Akteure, die die Mehrheit der österreichischen Nutzer bedienen, wird eine starke Grundlage für die Marktakzeptanz und das zukünftige Wachstum von Wero bilden" will.

The participating Austrian institutions likewise point to the strategic importance of a European solution. "Die European Payments Initiative ist ein wichtiger Baustein für einen starken und unabhängigen europäischen Zahlungsverkehr," it is said from the ranks of the partner banks. "Wir wollen unseren Kundinnen und Kunden diese europäische Alternative anbieten und damit einen Beitrag zur digitalen Souveränität Europas leisten," says Michael Höllerer, Generaldirektor of Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien.

Timeline and Market Opportunities in Austria

On the part of Raiffeisen, it is said that Wero makes a "wesentlichen Beitrag zur europäischen Souveränität und ist die Alternative zum digitalen Euro." Through their participation, the institutions are also positioning themselves in competition with established international payment services. In the Austrian market, Wero will thus in future appear alongside existing providers, while the EPI simultaneously continues to advance its pan-European orientation.

By early 2028, the service is to be usable in Austria. In this initial phase, retail customers of the participating major banks will be the first to gain access, according to the information provided. The EPI announced that the technical integration will be implemented step by step over the coming months. It remains open which other Austrian banks might join in a later phase.

With the market entry in Austria, the weight of the EPI within Europe is also shifting. The country is considered a comparatively small but digitally savvy market with a high density of banks. If the planned rollout succeeds, Wero would be directly usable in another eurozone member state and could simultaneously serve as a test case for expansion into further Central and Eastern European markets, in which Raiffeisen Bank International is already strongly represented.