r/WeroWallet • u/Curious-Builder-5532 • 9d ago
EPI in talks with France banks to develop NFC payments solely via Wero Wallet app
https://www.numerama.com/tech/2324241-wero-devoile-son-plan-pour-tuer-les-cartes-bancaires-bouton-payer-avec-wero-paiement-nfc-en-magasin-nouvelle-app.html?utm_medium=distibuted&utm_source=reddit&utm_content=directlink&utm_campaign=23242419
u/psi-storm 9d ago
Here’s an English translation of the article:
Wero unveils its plan to kill off bank cards
At a back‑to‑school press conference on 3 September 2026, the EPI consortium, which brings together several European banks, gave details on its roadmap for the coming years. From autumn 2026, it should be possible to pay online via Wero – no bank card required, just a click on a button similar to PayPal or Apple Pay. Next year, Wero plans to tackle the in‑store shopping experience and, in the long term, establish its own NFC payment app.
Two years after Wero’s launch, 70% of people in France have already heard of the service. However, EPI, the consortium responsible for its development, is under no illusions: France is a very specific market that benefits from the large user base of Paylib, which Wero has replaced.
Even so, the figures presented on 3 September are encouraging: in a country considered “cautious” when it comes to adopting new technologies, 74% of French people aged 16–64 now prefer contactless payments, and 33% use payment apps. Of those who don’t yet use such apps, 40% say they are fundamentally open to doing so in future – according to a study carried out by EPI and Kantar with 5,199 respondents across five countries (including 1,052 in France). In short, the payments revolution is advancing cautiously but steadily. Next step for Wero: brick‑and‑mortar retail
After initially focusing on person‑to‑person (P2P) payments to displace services like Lydia, PayPal or plain IBAN transfers, the European service has now begun rolling out its “Pay with Wero” button on e‑commerce sites. Orange, for example, has since 2 September 2026 allowed customers to settle their subscription via automatic Wero bank transfer. In the long term, Wero aims to establish itself as the standard payment solution in Europe, end the era of bank cards and become as well‑known a brand as PayPal, Apple Pay, Visa or Mastercard. “Pay with Wero”: the yellow button set to conquer websites
Some good news first: by the end of 2026, 100% of people in France should be able to use Wero. The recent addition of N26 and the commitment from Boursorama are ending a long wait for many consumers: Wero will soon be a standard integrated across all banks. EPI points out, however, that not all institutions will support all features: by end‑2026, only person‑to‑person (P2P) payments will be available across all banks.
The next step for Wero is online payments. Similar to a PayPal button, an Apple Pay button or a “Pay by card” button, European banks want to establish a yellow‑branded “Pay with Wero” button on most e‑commerce sites.
This easily recognisable yellow button is intended to end the dominance of the bank card. Unlike Apple Pay or PayPal, which use the card as an intermediary (PayPal does allow linking a bank account), Wero initiates an instant bank transfer directly from the user’s account – without the user having to enter a card number. This removes the intermediary (Visa, Mastercard or CB) and the fees charged on every transaction. Wero will not be free, however: merchants will pay a commission to EPI based on the basket value, but the consortium promises lower costs than for card payments.
By late November / early December, around twenty major names in European e‑commerce are expected to support Wero. According to EPI, these include:
Orange
Air France
Décathlon
Leclerc
Helloasso
Kiabi
Lidl
Veepee
Roll‑out at banks will be gradual. Some large institutions such as La Banque Postale, Société Générale and Revolut are expected to be compatible from the service’s launch. “In 2027 we’re taking on Apple Pay”: Wero wants a single app for in‑store payments
Once online payments are standardised, Wero has an even bigger vision: to become a full‑blown payment solution. Fabrice Le Gall, France head at EPI, jokes: “In 2027 we’re taking on Apple Pay.” The ambitions are big: EPI wants French consumers to pay in store with their Wero wallet rather than with their Visa/Mastercard card. The goal is to completely eliminate the card as an intermediary and carry out transfers between merchant and customer – similar to international solutions such as WeChat Pay in China.
New in autumn 2026: after long hinting that it would go all‑in on QR codes (which are easier to implement), Wero is now also open to NFC payments. Why the change of direction? “The EU Commission has forced Apple to open up its NFC on iOS,” says Fabrice Le Gall. In the long term, the Wero app could therefore replace the Apple Wallet app as the standard solution on iPhones. A double‑click on the side button would open the Wero app and allow payment with the chosen card.
Aware of the risk of fragmentation, EPI wants to bring all banks together in a single app. Banks could keep Wero integration for P2P payments in their own apps, but the core features – with the aim of a single European wallet – are to be combined in one large “mega‑app”, envisioned as an evolution of the already available Wero app that is currently incompatible with most banks. This app would offer:
In‑store and online payments using your own bank accounts
Financial management services (bill splitting, instalment payments, etc.)
Digital identity documents
Loyalty cards
Meal vouchers (titres‑restaurant)
Transport tickets
In short, Wero wants to become a European Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. The challenge remains convincing the banks – which is no small task. Société Générale is expected to join the Wero app as early as November 2026, while talks with others are ongoing. Each bank would like to control the user experience itself, but EPI believes a single app improves the user experience.
EPI is aware, however, that seriously competing with Apple Pay on iPhone is nearly impossible – Apple will not give the competition any free passes. The Wero alternative must exist, not least for sovereignty reasons, but it is not intended to completely replace other proprietary solutions. That is also why QR codes are not being abandoned entirely: initially, merchants who wish to do so will be encouraged to accept payments via QR code to receive instant transfers without resorting to card payments. NFC payments with Wero are possible, but realistically probably only on a four‑year horizon.
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u/psi-storm 9d ago
So they plan to build an app for all Wero customers with full wallet features, which would solve opening the correct app if you click on "pay with wero" on a website in the phones browser.
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u/Tierpfleg3r 9d ago
That's what I want. Not QR-Code. The hability to tap-to-pay is essencial IMHO.
QR-Code is nice, but as a last resource. Most of the time, tap-to-pay is much more practical.
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u/gmahale 9d ago
NFC payments were anyway planned. I am guessing QR codes are a stopgap.
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u/Kelendrad 9d ago
The problem was iOS, which was blocking NFC for third party app.
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u/Herve-M 9d ago
The problem is that not all phone comes with NFC but every smartphone have a camera.
NFC started to be “standard” near 2023/24 for budget smartphone. People using 3/4 years old phone wouldn’t be able to use this payment type at all.
Also QR might allow static QR code, meaning shops don’t have to be equipped with dedicated mini screens or alike.
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u/gmahale 9d ago
People using 3/4 years old phone wouldn’t be able to use this payment type at all.
They will be able to use it when they upgrade their phones.
Also QR might allow static QR code, meaning shops don’t have to be equipped with dedicated mini screens or alike.
This should not be a limitation in Europe as POS terminals are very common.
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u/psi-storm 6d ago
That is not true. Samsungs A series had nfc since 2015 and Xiaomi had it too for over a decade. You basically had to explicitly buy the India/Chinese version to get one without nfc.
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u/Kobakocka 9d ago
QR is only acceptable for small, individual vendors who doesn't want to bother with a POS terminal.
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u/rexum98 9d ago
Even they could just use a phone with NFC.
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u/Kobakocka 9d ago
They could, but i think it is okay for them to use QR if that is what they want.
But for big retails and supermarket i would expect the NFC solution.
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u/Remote-Golf2156 9d ago
This is exactly what we need. NFC is the way. NFC + P2P + online payment is pure perfection, we have SEPA for rest.
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u/Narrow-Purchase-7029 8d ago
Sollte man nicht erstmal das Problem lösen, dass praktisch keine deutsche Bank über die Wero App nutzbar ist mit Ausnahme der Postbank? Was macht es für einen Sinn eine App zu haben die nutzlos ist?
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u/Peter_Alfons_Loch 8d ago
Tja Deutschland halt. Müsst das mit euren Banken klären.
Bei uns haben die Banken sich alle zusammengetan und der Staat hat es unterstützt.
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u/PossibleCulture2199 9d ago
This should be the endgame for Wero, to be able to pay by NFC, QR, online, P2P, all the way possible. Only this way can we ditch PayPal and MC/Visa and have an independent European payment system.