Wero, the digital payment solution developed by the European Payments Initiative, went live for e-commerce payments in Belgium on March 3, 2026, marking its second market for online merchant payments after Germany. The launch was announced in Brussels with ING, KBC and BNP Paribas Fortis as the initial bank partners powering the rollout.
Belfius, another major Belgian bank, is expected to activate Wero e-commerce within weeks, while a broader group including Argenta, Bank Van Breda, Beobank, bunq, Crelan, Keytrade Bank, Nagelmackers, Revolut and vdk bank are planned for progressive integration in the second half of 2026. The first online transaction in Belgium was completed with the Belgian Red Cross-Flanders, and merchants including Ahold Delhaize, Bpost, Just Russel, Pairi Daiza and Parfum Dreams have announced their intention to accept Wero.
Alongside the Belgian launch, EPI disclosed that Wero has reached 51.8 million registered users across its three live markets of Germany, France and Belgium. This represents substantial growth from the 43.5 million users reported in mid-2025, driven by continued bank onboarding and the expansion of use cases beyond peer-to-peer transfers.
The e-commerce rollout follows Germany, where Wero online payments went live in November 2025 with Sparkassen and Volksbanken/Raiffeisenbanken as the first bank partners. Major German retailers including Lidl, Decathlon, Rossmann and Eventim were among the first merchants to accept Wero. Deutsche Bank and Postbank activated Wero e-commerce for their customers in December 2025.
France is expected to launch Wero e-commerce in the first half of 2026, with Air France, E.Leclerc, Orange, Veepee and Dott having signed merchant agreements. BNP Paribas is leading bank integration efforts in the French market.
The Belgian launch comes amid a broader acceleration of the Wero rollout across Europe. In the Netherlands, the phased migration from iDEAL to Wero began on January 31, 2026, with a co-branding phase replacing iDEAL logos with the new iDEAL | Wero combined mark. Luxembourg is preparing for its own launch by the end of June 2026, with five banks having formalized their EPI membership. Payconiq, the existing Belgian and Luxembourg payment scheme acquired by EPI in 2023, will be fully replaced by Wero in Luxembourg by September 2026.
The neobank sector is also joining the Wero ecosystem. N26 signed a membership agreement with EPI in December 2025 and plans to launch Wero in Germany, France and the Netherlands in the second half of 2026. bunq, another European neobank, joined Wero as a member in early 2026 for operations across four markets.
Wero transactions settle via SEPA Instant Credit Transfer through the European Central Bank TIPS infrastructure, providing real-time settlement across the eurozone. EPI has outlined plans for point-of-sale NFC payments beginning in 2026, which would put Wero in direct competition with Apple Pay, Google Pay and traditional card schemes at physical retail locations.