Wero, the account-to-account wallet run by the European Payments Initiative (EPI), was due to open on September 1, 2026, to customers of five Luxembourg banks: Spuerkeess, BGL BNP Paribas, BIL, Raiffeisen, and POST Finance. Each bank is activating customers on its own schedule. The day before the launch, only two of the five had confirmed to the Luxembourg daily L’essentiel that they were ready.
Luxembourg differs on one point from Wero’s first three markets, Germany, France, and Belgium, where it has been live since 2024. Here it replaces Payconiq, the country’s established mobile payment app, which EPI owns, as it does iDEAL in the Netherlands. The two apps are set to run side by side through September. Wero’s Luxembourg page targets a complete transition by the end of September 2026, when the Payconiq app and brand will no longer be used.
EPI is owned by European banks and payment providers. Wero runs on SEPA instant credit transfers and replaces the exchange of IBANs with a phone number or an email address. Scanning a QR code pays for a purchase or a bill.
Five banks, five activation schedules
Not every account holder was to get access on the same day. The five banks set their own activation dates and notify customers as they go. On the eve of the launch, Spuerkeess told L’essentiel that its teams were hard at work on it, and Raiffeisen said everything was ready. BGL BNP Paribas, BIL, and POST Finance declined to comment before a press conference scheduled for September 2, 2026. The paper’s headline said the Luxembourg launch appeared to be faltering. Wero’s Luxembourg page lists a sixth bank, Banque de Luxembourg, for spring 2027.
Merchants get mixed signals on replacing QR codes
For merchants, the point of sale is a QR code, printed on a counter display or on an invoice. Wero’s Luxembourg page says Payconiq codes will be gradually replaced with Wero codes, with a transition period during which both formats are accepted. It tells merchants to stop ordering Payconiq codes meant for use after summer 2026, and refers them to the payment provider Buckaroo to switch on acceptance.
What keeps acceptance running is a redirect. Payconiq says that scanning an old Payconiq code, in a store or on a bill, takes the payer to the Wero payment system. POST Finance describes the same flow for its customers. Printed codes therefore keep working while the banks bring their customers over in waves.
EPI pushed the launch back two months to avoid the summer lull
The launch was first announced for the end of June 2026. BGL BNP Paribas, BIL, Raiffeisen, and Spuerkeess had committed to that date, with POST Luxembourg expected no earlier than mid-August, and none of them made it. EPI picked September 1 to avoid the summer holidays, when media attention, customer engagement, and market visibility tend to drop. It added that launching a new payment brand takes coordinated communications as well as technical readiness.
Luxembourg is on its third mobile payment app
Mobile payments took hold early in Luxembourg, which explains how widely they are accepted. L’essentiel traces three generations: Digicash, a domestic-only app, then Payconiq, used mostly in the Benelux countries, and now Wero, built for all of Europe. The switch follows the pattern of the earlier ones. The merchant keeps its display and the customer changes apps. The country is small enough that its merchant base can migrate within a few weeks.
A small market tests a model that could travel
| Market | Launch | Domestic app |
|---|---|---|
| Germany, France, Belgium | Since 2024 | Offered through banking apps |
| Luxembourg | Scheduled for September 1, 2026, with five banks | Payconiq discontinued by the end of September 2026 |
| Netherlands | Announced for 2026 | iDEAL, also owned by EPI |
The whole changeover is scheduled to fit within a month. The five banks are to activate their customers while merchants’ codes still work in both formats. The Payconiq app and brand then go out of use, by the end of September 2026 according to Wero and on September 30 according to L’essentiel and The Paypers. POST Finance says Wero will gradually become its customers’ entry point for mobile payments from fall 2026. The other four banks have made no comparable public commitment. QR code acceptance is already in place across the country.