As the Deputy will be aware, whether or not to participate in a payment solution, such as Wero, is ultimately a commercial decision for each individual bank. That being said, several policy actions have been taken or are underway, which aim to increase uptake of instant account to account payment solutions both in Ireland and across the EU.
The Instant Payments Regulation has achieved widespread availability of instant credit transfers across the single market, including in Ireland; thereby driving efficiency gains in settlement and adoption of open banking payment initiation services.
Prior to the introduction of the instant payment’s regulation Ireland had limited adoption of instant payments by banks compared to other EU member states. In accordance with the Instant Payments Regulation, Irish Banks have been capable of receiving instant payments since January 2025 and capable of sending instant payments since October 2025.
Additionally, the Digital Euro will provide EU citizens with a pan European instant account to account payment solution. The Digital Euro Regulation remains under negotiation at EU level; it is our ambition to reach political agreement during our Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Domestically, Ireland’s National Payments Strategy (NPS) requires the “Availability of at least one 'pay by account’ solution as a convenient and trusted alternative to cards and cash.” Under the NPS, the Central Bank established the Pay by Account (PAYBAC) Working Group “to coordinate enhancements to the payments ecosystem that facilitate the successful uptake of PAYBAC functionality in Ireland”. This working group is, amongst other things, examining the potential of open banking to promote account to account payments in Ireland.
While Wero could have the potential to become an account-to-account payment solution with EU-wide reach, it is not yet available throughout the EU. Indeed, at present there is no EU-wide payment solution based on instant payments. Nevertheless, Wero and the European Payments Alliance announced a collaborative approach last summer.
Separately, Irish banks launched Zippay last month. Although Zippay does not offer the same suite of solutions as Wero, its initial focus being on person-to-person payments, the introduction of Zippay is following the same path as national payment solutions seen elsewhere in Europe. Typically, solutions that focus first on personal payments can evolve into e-commerce payments and subsequently to physical in-store payments.
