iDEAL becomes Wero: What does this mean for you?

Starting in 2026, the phased transition from iDEAL to Wero: a new, European payment solution and wallet will begin, developed by the European Payments Initiative (EPI). This partnership of major European banks, including ING, Rabobank and ABN AMRO, aims to bundle national payment systems into one future-proof European standard.

For years, iDEAL has been the dominant online payment method in the Netherlands, but it is geographically limited. Wero removes this limitation. Wero enables fast and secure payments within multiple European countries online, in-store, for subscriptions and for peer-to-peer payments.

The phased migration through 2027

The migration from iDEAL to Wero will take place in several phases:

1. Early 2026: introduction of the combined "iDEAL | Wero" logo on payment pages.
2. 2026-2027: step-by-step migration of the backend technology to Wero
3. End of 2027: expected completion of migration and gradual phasing out of the iDEAL brand.

During this period, the payment experience will remain stable and familiar, with additional functionalities such as purchase protection and new forms of payment.

Four frequently asked questions about Wero:

1. What specifically does this mean for merchants and what comes next?

For merchants, there are no mandatory changes needed for now to support the transition from iDEAL to Wero. The existing payment flow will continue to function as you are used to.

• • • • The new logos have already been updated in our developer documentation.

      • With the next plugin update, the iDEAL | Wero logos will be automatically propagated to connected webshops.

      • Are you working with a custom integration? Then you can load the appropriate logos yourself via the available images pack.

      • Until October 2026, you can decide whether you want to participate in a pilot to send traffic (where possible) to Wero in advance. You will find this option in My.Pay as soon as the banks support it.
      • Have you not made your choice before then? Then we will automatically switch you to Wero. Even after that, you retain the option to opt-out: this is possible until the end of 2027.
        
        

2. How does the payment routing work?

An iDEAL payment uses the Routing Service Module (RSM). This routing layer determines which banking environment the consumer is forwarded to in order to complete the payment. This keeps the iDEAL experience consistent, while the underlying infrastructure gradually moves toward Wero.

With Wero, payments can be automatically processed through Wero when the chosen bank is already ready:

• • • • Bank is Wero-ready → payment is processed via Wero

      • Bank is not Wero-ready → payment is automatically processed via iDEAL

3. What if a customer chooses Wero, but the bank is not yet ready?

In that case, the payment can be started but not completed in the banking app. The customer will then be directed back to the checkout and can still successfully complete the payment by selecting iDEAL. Should you have the iDEAL to Wero route enabled there, the payment will be completed via iDEAL.

4. What about buyer protection and disputes in the transition phase?

Wero’s purchase protection via disputes will only become available in the next phase of migration, when merchants fully switch to Wero. During the RSM phase, transactions will remain under iDEAL rules, and no purchase protection will apply.

Wero is already live in several European countries

Wero is not a future concept. The solution is already being actively used in several countries:

• Belgium: Wero is live for instant payments and is supported by more and more banks.

• Germany: Wero has been available since 2024 for peer-to-peer payments and in some cases for online transactions.

• Luxembourg: local banks are preparing the rollout; consumers are expected to access the Wero wallet for national and cross-border payments around 2026.

Therefore, consumers in Belgium and Germany can already use Wero, mainly through mobile banking apps and wallets. Luxembourg will follow once local bank integrations are completed.