December 14, 2023
EPI successfully executes first instant payment transactions in Europe with Wero between customers from Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne (Groupe BPCE) in France and Sparkasse Elbe-Elster Bank in Germany
The European Payments Initiative (EPI) is thrilled to announce the successful completion of its first account-to-account instant payment transactions with wero, EPI’s newly developed instant payment solution. This significant milestone was achieved today through a proof of concept conducted between customers from Sparkasse Elbe-Elster in Germany and Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne (Groupe BPCE) in France.
The inaugural transaction, worth 10 euros, was sent today from a German account to a French account via the easy-to-use new payment solution. The advanced technology employed by the dedicated teams at both banks ensured that the transfer was instant. Subsequently, the bank teams proceeded to conduct several additional transactions throughout the day, seamlessly moving various amounts of euros between the designated accounts.
This successful demonstration shows the progress done by EPI in building its account-to-account (A2A) payment means based on SCT Inst and its digital wallet. The enthusiasm and dedication exhibited by all the teams during this significant occasion were truly inspiring. Looking ahead, EPI plans to extend the use of wero to the first pilot users within its member banks in Belgium, France, and Germany in the new year.
Today marks a significant achievement for EPI and for the European payments landscape as a whole. The successful execution of our first account-to-account instant payment transactions with wero demonstrates our capacity to deliver value and innovation to consumers and merchants in Europe. I thank the dedicated teams for their relentless pursuit of this accomplishment. We have now launched our concrete journey of delivering all kind of payment use cases and related services to the market and are moving towards our goal of changing the way Europe pays.
Groupe BPCE, a founding member of EPI, is delighted to have played an active role in this major milestone for EPI in collaboration with the German Savings Banks Association. As fervent promoters of a unified instant payment solution for Europe, our contribution to bringing the first transactions to life was obvious to us. It also illustrates our ambition to integrate the EPI solution, wero, into the mobile banking apps of Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne in order to continue to bring ever greater value to their customers
The successful completion of the first account-to-account-transaction with wero is a significant technological milestone for European independence in payment. With this pioneering achievement, we demonstrate our commitment to transforming the payment landscape in Europe by providing a secure, efficient, and fully integrated payment solution for banks, customers and merchants.
The successful completion of the first account-to-account-transaction with wero is a significant technological milestone for European independence in payment. With this pioneering achievement, we demonstrate our commitment to transforming the payment landscape in Europe by providing a secure, efficient, and fully integrated payment solution for banks, customers and merchants.