Orange Extends Wero to Monthly Bill Payments as EPI's Wallet Moves Into French Merchant Territory
Orange Extends Wero to Monthly Bill Payments as EPI’s Wallet Moves Into French Merchant Territory #
Orange has become the first merchant in France to let customers pay monthly subscription bills through Wero, the digital wallet operated by the European Payments Initiative (EPI), extending the pan-European service beyond its original peer-to-peer focus.
The move brings Wero into recurring payment territory previously held by bank direct debits and card-on-file arrangements. Orange subscribers can now settle monthly bills through the Wero app, bypassing card networks in favour of direct account-to-account transfers routed over SEPA Instant Credit Transfer infrastructure.
EPI, the consortium of 16 European banks and payment service providers that operates Wero, has been expanding the wallet’s capabilities since its mid-2024 launch across Germany, France, and Belgium. The service attracted more than 45 million registered users through its instant peer-to-peer transfer functionality before EPI turned to commercial merchant use cases. Orange and its consumer brand Sosh had previously signed a partnership agreement with EPI, with invoice settlement and equipment purchases identified as their primary intended applications.
The French merchant rollout advanced in April 2026, when banking group BPCE, parent of Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne, completed the first Wero e-commerce transactions in France. Early participants included the Ecole du Ski Francais, e-commerce platform Veepee, parcel carrier DPD, and rail operator SNCF. Orange’s bill-payment integration extends Wero into the subscription economy.
EPI’s commercial argument centres on reducing reliance on international card networks. Wero transactions flow as direct bank-to-bank SEPA Instant transfers, eliminating interchange fees for merchants, a goal that has drawn backing from European institutions including the European Central Bank.
BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Societe Generale, and other EPI shareholder banks have committed to enabling full merchant payment access for their own customers in the second half of 2026. The Netherlands is also moving through a phased migration of the iDEAL payment scheme into the Wero brand, expanding the wallet’s reach across continental Europe.
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