Martina Weimert, head of the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and the paid payment service Wero, has sharply criticized the European Central Bank’s (ECB) plans for a digital Euro. While she stated she has no issue with the concept of a digital Euro itself, she argues that developing European standards for it now is five years too late.
Wero, which provides the payment service backbone for over 50 European banks, was forced into defining these very standards. According to Weimert, the digital Euro risks creating a redundant second infrastructure that largely mirrors existing payment methods. She cautioned that depending on the final design, this new system could end up being costly for both merchants and banks.
Instead, Weimert advocated for a model based on collaboration and role sharing. The digital Euro should serve as a payment “method”, but it should align with or cooperate with established solutions like Wero, rather than demanding a completely new ECB app in the market. She noted that providing the digital Euro to consumers through an existing framework would be preferable, given the possibility of low adoption rates for yet another application.
Wero represents an effort by European banks to build a payment alternative to market leaders like PayPal, Mastercard, and Visa, boasting over 50 million customers across Europe, including 2.7 million in Germany. However, the service is reportedly operating at a loss, having posted a deficit exceeding 50 million euros in 2024. Weimert estimated that the project would likely require further financial support to achieve profitability by 2030.
She stressed the need for the project to gain momentum, particularly in retail, where the solution has yet to establish a strong foothold, and criticizes retailers and service providers for errors in their planning that slowed the start in e-commerce.
The digital Euro aims to replace physical cash and is heavily promoted by the ECB. While it would allow users to send money and shop using the digital currency, the EU Parliament is scheduled to vote on a draft law in June. This law, if passed, would make the Euro mandatory for merchants starting in 2029-a structural advantage over private-sector solutions like PayPal or Wero.
