Payment Sovereignty in Europe: How Wero Challenges Visa and Mastercard
- Marc Griffith
- Mar 21
- 5 min read
Summary Wero, the European Payments Initiative (EPI) project, in partnership with the EuroPA Alliance, creates a pan-European network for 130 million users: the goal is to reduce dependence on Visa and Mastercard, enable instant cross-border payments, and offer tangible opportunities for fintech startups. Key takeaways
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Payment sovereignty in Europe has become a political and technological priority: Europe aims to reduce dependence on foreign networks like Visa and Mastercard and build its own infrastructure.
Payment Sovereignty in Europe: Why Now
Every card or mobile transaction in Europe today traverses infrastructure largely controlled by U.S. or Chinese companies; this dependence exposes data and financial operations to geopolitical and commercial risks.
Christine Lagarde has stressed the urgent need for a European-owned payment system, noting that most payments pass through external operators such as Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, or Alipay.
When foreign payment systems are disrupted or subjected to sanctions, local services can collapse; a European network reduces this operational risk.
What Wero Is and How It Works (Payment Sovereignty in Europe)
The European Payments Initiative (EPI), with the digital wallet Wero, aims to create a pan-European alternative built on SEPA Instant transfers: users can send money using only a phone number, without IBAN or cards.
Wero began as an account-to-account solution: the goal is to enable peer-to-peer payments, e-commerce, and point-of-sale using the existing banking network and SEPA infrastructure.
Key figures and adoption
Wero has already surpassed 47 million registered users in Belgium, France, and Germany and has processed over €7.5 billion in transfers; these metrics show that initial scale is achievable by linking existing national systems.
The platform counts more than 1,100 participating institutions and has launched retail payments in Germany with merchants such as Lidl, Decathlon, Rossmann, and Air Europa; launches in France and Belgium are planned for 2026.
Connecting existing national user bases is a pragmatic strategy to reach critical mass without starting from scratch.
The Role of the EPI-EuroPA Agreement and Market Impact
The memorandum between EPI and the EuroPA Alliance instantly connects about 130 million users across 13 countries, covering roughly 72% of the population of the EU and Norway; this pan-European integration accelerates Wero's ability to compete with international networks.
The strategy is clear: leverage the strength of national solutions (Bizum, Bancomat, MB WAY, Vipps MobilePay) to create interoperability without rebuilding the entire ecosystem from scratch.
Implications for Fintech Startups and Investors
For fintech startups, the emergence of a pan-European infrastructure brings both opportunities and obligations: there is growing demand for integrations with European wallets, compliance tools, and value-added services for merchants.
Practical advantages include lower interchange fees on a commercial level, greater control over payment data, and new products based on the wallet's UX (loyalty, integrated checkout, instant payouts).
Which startups can benefit
Solutions that facilitate SEPA Instant integration, automated reconciliation tools, wallet KYC onboarding services, and e-commerce plugins are natural candidates; startups offering robust APIs and PSD2/Instant Payments compliance will have a competitive edge.
Obstacles, Risks, and Critique
Despite political enthusiasm and initial metrics, there are real risks: it requires multi-billion euro investment, profitability is challenged by low fees, and global competition is rapidly adopting alternative technologies.
European fragmentation has historically been the main problem: national solutions with divergent rules have prevented truly interoperable networks, and the network effect continues to favor Visa and Mastercard.
Other critical factors include: governance complexities among competing banks, regulatory barriers to cross-border integration, and the risk that incumbents evolve by acquiring European fintech technologies (e.g., Mastercard's acquisition of BVNK).
The window of opportunity exists only if execution is faster than incumbents' adaptation and regulatory and scale hurdles are overcome.
Critical Analysis: Pros and Cons for the Sector (Debate)
The shift toward payment sovereignty in Europe presents strategic advantages but requires realistic economic and operational considerations.
Pros: an European infrastructure reduces data exfiltration to non-EU entities, increases regulatory control, and can lower intermediation costs for local markets if scale is achieved. Moreover, linking national networks leverages installed bases and local trust, accelerating adoption.
Cons: building and operating a pan-European network involves enormous investments; EPI itself estimates the need for several billions of euros. EU rules on interchange and interoperability (e.g., interchange regulation) compress margins, making the traditional card networks business model challenging.
From a competitive standpoint, Visa and Mastercard are not sitting idle: they are investing in stablecoins, digital infrastructures, and technology acquisitions (such as BVNK), reducing the European first-mover advantage. For founders, the question is practical: where to position yourself? Offering integration tools, merchant services, or vertical solutions (travel, retail, B2B) remains strategic.
Finally, there is a political risk: if digital euro legislation or other rules delay, the window to capture adoption could close. For fintech product developers, the operational choice is to focus on flexibility and integration with both networks—local and international—to avoid depending on a single political outcome.
Concrete Actions for Founders and Innovators
Assess SEPA Instant integration as a technical prerequisite, build modular APIs for European wallets, and develop a B2B offering for merchants; startups must clearly map which parts of the value chain can be scaled in a regulated market.
Practical tips: build partnerships with local banks, test integrations in pilot countries, measure checkout conversion KPIs, and design for user data portability.
What to Monitor in the Next 12-24 Months
Signals to watch: progress in digital euro legislation, rollout of e-commerce and POS for Wero, merchant adoption speed, and Visa/Mastercard moves toward European fintech assets; these indicators will show whether payment sovereignty in Europe will become a competitive reality.
Practical Next Steps for Investors
For investors, the recommendation is to balance market opportunities with execution risk: evaluate startups offering technical integration, compliance-as-a-service, and merchant solutions, and favor teams with experience in the European banking ecosystem; due diligence should include regulatory scenarios and realistic rollout timelines.
Toward a New Payments Infrastructure
The challenge is not only technological but political and commercial: if Europe removes internal barriers and speeds execution, its economic wealth and financial resilience will benefit.
Time is a critical factor: every delay strengthens incumbents' software and commercial integration, making a complete replacement of external networks more difficult.
What to Do Now — Final Suggestions for Founders and Decision Makers
Consider multichannel integration paths (wallet, POS, e-commerce), build partnerships with banks participating in EPI, and plan scalable SEPA Instant products; the winning strategy combines speed of execution with strong focus on compliance and user experience.
In short: payment sovereignty in Europe is a real opportunity for European fintech, but it requires speed, partnerships, and adaptable business models.
