iDeal goes crossborder! Sort of. In the Netherlands we have long known how easy it is to pay with iDeal, now it is being rolled out abroad. But usability is not the main goal of this expansion: the European Payments Initiative (EPI) aims to develop its own European payment method as a counterpart to American systems. Although this European service is based on iDeal, it will have a new name: Wero.
What is Wero - and why is it so important?
EPI has acquired Dutch iDeal and Belgian Payconiq, Wero is the successor to these payment services. It was born out of a need to offer an alternative to American systems such as Maestro/Mastercard, V-Pay/Visa and Paypal. By using these U.S. providers, payment data also goes to these companies. Sixteen European banks, including ING, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank, considered this a major risk back in 2020. That's why they set to work as EPI to develop Wero. With geopolitical tensions rising and relations with the United States complicated to say the least, the need for an independent European payment instrument is growing. EPI has called on all European banks and payment institutions to participate, as shareholders and/or participants. So far, Wero has focused only on online payments.
What is the impact on e-commerce?
Wero is currently being rolled out in Belgium, France, and Germany. Luxembourg and the Netherlands will follow in 2026. In Belgium, Payconiq is currently being exchanged for Wero, this process is gradual because not every bank in Belgium is yet connected to Wero. In the Netherlands, almost nothing will change except for the name. Make sure you clarify on your own website for the customer that Wero is simply another name for iDeal/Payconiq; then the adoption will go a lot better.
Are European consumers waiting for a new payment method?
This is a different story in other countries, such as Germany, France and Luxembourg. There, Wero is not a rebrand or a replacement of an existing method, but an entirely new method. Especially in Germany and France, this takes some getting used to for customers: they are mostly used to using Paypal, credit cards or Carte Bancaire. Since Wero is already being rolled out in Belgium, France and Germany, adoption in Luxembourg is likely to go well. There is no strong local alternative in Luxembourg for Wero to compete with, and it is an ideal option for people working across the border with German, Belgian or French accounts.
What about other European countries?
EPI's call for European banks to join seems to be aimed primarily at Spain and Italy, where customers often use trusted payment methods such as Bizum. Currently there are no indications that Wero will be available in other countries, but if Wero is successful it will naturally become an interesting option for other markets.
What should I do as an entrepreneur?
Do you only operate in the Netherlands and Belgium? Then it's relatively simple: for the Netherlands, keep an eye on when iDeal becomes Wero, and in Belgium, promote Wero as the successor to Payconiq. In Germany and France, you can introduce Wero by gradually making it visible in the checkout and presenting it as a new, European and secure payment method. To gain and maintain customers' trust, it is best to offer the usual methods, and simply add Wero as an additional option. Above all, keep monitoring all updates surrounding Wero: new countries may be added. At the same time, do not assume that Wero will become as successful in the rest of Europe as iDeal is here.
The potential of Wero
Dutch payment services such as Mollie or Adyen must also adapt to the arrival of Wero. This increases competition between payment systems, which can change margins. As an entrepreneur you end up in an ideal negotiating position, where you can demand more transparency around transactions and choose the most advantageous payment systems.
An option like Wero makes crossborder checkout easier and cheaper. Customers abroad can pay from their own familiar banking environment, eliminating the need to create a new account for a service such as Paypal. Customers who drop out in checkout because they don't have Paypal or a credit card are then a thing of the past.
Wero's success depends on how quickly consumers abroad switch to it, which in turn depends on their confidence in Wero. But to become a full-fledged competitor to U.S. systems, Wero must also be deployable for debit card or smartphone payments. In other words, both e-commerce and physical retail need to get to Wero.
The debit card is not currently a priority: EPI says it is fully committed to NFC payments for smartphones. With systems like Apple Pay and Google Pay (which also eventually complete payments via Visa/Mastercard), people pay using the NFC chip in their phones. If Wero will also work via the NFC chip, then Wero has a chance to succeed as the premier European payment system. And if Wero flops internationally? It's not the end of the world: abroad, Wero will be another tile on the wall of payment options to choose from. And in the Netherlands and Belgium, you keep the home field advantage.
