The European Payments Initiative is preparing to enter the most contested segment of the European payments market. Following the successful rollout of peer-to-peer transfers across Germany, France, and Belgium, and the launch of e-commerce payments in Germany and Belgium, EPI has confirmed that NFC-enabled point-of-sale payments will begin in the second half of 2026, with Germany serving as the first market.
The in-store launch represents a fundamental shift in Wero's competitive positioning. While P2P and e-commerce payments compete primarily with bank transfers and online payment methods, point-of-sale payments put Wero in direct competition with Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, and Google Pay at the physical checkout terminal. This is the segment where card networks generate the majority of their European revenue, processing trillions of euros in annual transactions through interchange and scheme fees that European merchants have long contested.
EPI's approach to POS relies on NFC technology that enables contactless payments from a smartphone, mirroring the user experience that consumers have already adopted through Apple Pay and Google Pay. The critical difference is the underlying rail. Rather than processing through card networks, Wero transactions settle via SEPA Instant Credit Transfer through the European Central Bank's TIPS infrastructure, with funds moving directly between bank accounts in seconds. For merchants, this eliminates interchange fees and scheme fees, replacing them with a single Wero acceptance fee that EPI has designed to undercut card-based alternatives.
Apple's decision to open NFC access to third-party payment apps in the European Economic Area, following the European Commission's antitrust intervention, has removed a key technical barrier. Wero's POS launch depends on this regulatory change, allowing the wallet to trigger NFC payments on both Android and iOS devices without being blocked by platform restrictions.
Germany's selection as the first POS market is strategically logical. The country has the largest installed base of Wero users, with Sparkassen, Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, ING, and other major banks already offering P2P and e-commerce functionality. German consumers also have a cultural affinity for account-based payments, with cash and direct debit historically preferred over credit cards. The acquirer infrastructure is in place, with PAYONE already serving 277,000 merchant customers and processing 5.4 billion transactions annually as a licensed EPI member and nationwide Wero acquirer since November 2025. Unzer has confirmed plans for in-store Wero acceptance alongside subscription management and loyalty program integration.
The competitive challenge extends beyond technology. Wero's 51.8 million registered users across three countries represent significant scale, but point-of-sale adoption depends on simultaneous merchant acceptance and consumer habit formation. Card networks benefit from decades of established behaviour and universal acceptance. Apple Pay and Google Pay benefit from this same card infrastructure while adding smartphone convenience. Wero must persuade consumers to choose a different payment method at checkout, a behaviour change that historically takes years even when the economic incentives for merchants are clear.
The rollout plan after Germany has not been confirmed in detail, but EPI has indicated that France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands will follow as omnichannel markets. The addition of subscription management and loyalty services alongside POS payments suggests EPI is building toward a comprehensive digital wallet that competes not just on payment functionality but on value-added services that can drive daily usage.
For the broader European payment sovereignty agenda, POS represents the decisive test. P2P transfers and e-commerce are valuable market segments, but physical retail is where daily payment habits are formed and where the revenue base of international card networks is concentrated. The second half of 2026 will begin to show whether Wero can make inroads at the checkout terminal or whether the network effects of established payment methods prove too entrenched to displace.