ACI Worldwide teams with EPI to accelerate instant payments in Europe via the Wero wallet, marking a strategic push to unify fragmented payment methods across the continent and give merchants a single, real‑time checkout option.
Why the partnership matters
ACI Worldwide, a long‑standing provider of payments infrastructure, has become a principal member of the European Payments Initiative (EPI). The deal integrates EPI’s Wero digital wallet—built on SEPA instant‑payment rails—directly into ACI’s Payments Orchestration Platform. For European merchants and financial service providers, the integration promises a plug‑and‑play gateway to a pan‑European, account‑to‑account (A2A) payment experience that bypasses card schemes and reduces settlement latency to seconds.
What Wero brings to the table
Launched in 2024, Wero is positioned as a sovereign alternative to global wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. It supports peer‑to‑peer (P2P) transfers, e‑commerce checkout, and point‑of‑sale (POS) purchases, all settled instantly via the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme. Currently live in Belgium, France, and Germany, the wallet already serves 55 million users and processes billions of euros in daily transactions. By leveraging ACI’s orchestration layer, Wero can tap into more than 26 domestic and pan‑regional instant‑payment schemes that ACI operates worldwide.
Industry impact and competitive context
The EU’s Instant Payments Regulation, effective January 2025, obliges all Eurozone banks and PSPs to support real‑time transfers. While incumbents like Visa Direct and Mastercard Send have expanded into instant‑payment APIs, they remain tied to card networks and associated fees. Wero’s A2A model eliminates the intermediary, delivering lower cost per transaction and a smoother consumer experience. ACI’s orchestration platform further differentiates the offering by providing a single integration point for multiple acquirers, alternative payment methods (APMs), and fraud‑prevention services—capabilities that many pure‑play fintech wallets lack.
Benefits for enterprise marketers
Enterprise marketers
For enterprise marketing teams, the combined ACI‑Wero stack unlocks new data signals. Real‑time data can be fused with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce or Adobe Experience Cloud) to trigger instant, context‑aware offers at the point of sale. The unified API also simplifies cross‑border campaign roll‑outs, as merchants no longer need separate integrations for each national instant‑payment scheme.
Roadmap and rollout timeline
EPI plans to extend Wero to Luxembourg and the Netherlands in the next few months, with in‑store acceptance slated for 2027. In Germany, the wallet has been available for online checkout since late 2025, and subscription‑type payments are slated for 2026. French rollout is expected in the fall of 2026, while broader European coverage will follow as additional instant‑payment rails come online.
Analyst perspective
Gartner predicts that by 2028, 30 % of B2B payments will be executed via real‑time APIs, up from 12 % in 2023. IDC estimates that instant‑payment volumes in Europe could double annually until 2029, driven by regulatory pressure and consumer demand for frictionless checkout. ACI’s own “Prime Time for Real‑Time” report projects a rise from 17.2 billion instant transactions in 2023 to 38.6 billion in 2028, representing 13 % of all electronic payments. The ACI‑EPI alliance directly addresses this growth trajectory.
Potential challenges
Adoption hinges on merchant willingness to replace legacy card terminals and on consumer trust in a new, bank‑backed wallet. Data‑privacy regulations across the EU also require robust consent frameworks, an area where ACI’s compliance modules may prove decisive.
Market Landscape
The European instant‑payment market is undergoing rapid consolidation. Apart from ACI, major players include Stripe’s “Instant Payouts,” PayPal’s “PayPal Instant Transfer,” and emerging blockchain‑based settlement networks such as RippleNet. However, most of these solutions still rely on a two‑step settlement model that introduces latency and additional fees. Wero’s direct A2A approach, combined with ACI’s orchestration layer, offers a more streamlined alternative that aligns with the EU’s push for a sovereign digital payments ecosystem. The partnership also positions EPI as a credible counterweight to US‑centric wallet ecosystems, reinforcing Europe’s strategic goal of financial autonomy.
Top Insights
- ACI’s integration gives Wero instant‑payment reach across 26 schemes, accelerating pan‑European rollout.
- The A2A model reduces transaction costs by up to 40 % compared with card‑based alternatives.
- Enterprise marketers can leverage real‑time payment data for hyper‑personalized offers at checkout.
- IDC forecasts European instant‑payment volumes to double annually through 2029, underscoring growth potential.
- Regulatory pressure from the EU Instant Payments Regulation drives banks toward solutions like Wero.
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