Wero: more than 120 online merchants, and from October iDEAL starts migrating in the Netherlands
The European banks' payment solution is live in four countries, more than 120 e-commerce merchants accept it, and in October the migration of the Dutch market leader iDEAL begins. Buyer protection will be phased in through to 2028.
What happened
The European Payments Initiative (EPI) reports progress on several fronts for its payment solution Wero. Banks in four countries have integrated Wero into their apps, most recently Bunq in the Netherlands. More than 120 e-commerce merchants accept Wero at the checkout. From October 2026, the migration of iDEAL — by far the most widely used online payment method in the Netherlands — to Wero begins. Buyer protection will be introduced in stages through to 2028. In Germany, Wero has replaced giropay, which was discontinued at the end of 2024, and is supported by Payone, VR Payment, Unzer, Nexi, Worldline and Stripe.
Who it affects
Online merchants in Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. For merchants with Dutch customers, the iDEAL migration becomes a mandatory task, because in many Dutch shops iDEAL accounts for more than half of all payments.
What it means
Wero is the most serious attempt in twenty years to put a European payment method up against Visa, Mastercard and PayPal. The figures are respectable for a two-year-old scheme, but 120 merchants are a rounding error compared with PayPal. The lever is not the number of users of the banking apps, but the question of what the merchant pays per transaction and whether the payment lands in their account immediately and irrevocably.
That is why the iDEAL migration is the decisive moment. In the Netherlands it switches millions of users and thousands of shops over in one go. If that runs smoothly, Wero has a home market from which it can radiate into Germany. If it stutters, it loses the trust of exactly the merchants it needs most. For German shops the rule is: offering Wero as a payment method costs little, and the payment service provider usually supplies it as standard. Whoever places it prominently decides the mix themselves.
What to do now
- Check whether your own payment service provider already offers Wero, and ask for the terms per transaction.
- Shops with Dutch customers: schedule the migration from iDEAL to Wero with your provider before October revenues are affected.
- Remove old giropay logos and texts from the checkout; the scheme has not existed since the end of 2024.
Sources
- EPI Company: After 12 months of existence, Wero has successfully positioned itself (15.09.2025)
- EPI Company: Wero unveils its e-commerce solution and announces first merchants in Germany
- it-finanzmagazin: EPI startet Wero im deutschen Online-Handel und gewinnt erste große Händler
- Business of Payments, Newsletter September 2026 (Wero/iDEAL)