Decathlon Germany has integrated Wero, the retail payment product of the European Payments Initiative (EPI), on its website, decathlon.de, marking a significant test case for the EU-backed payment scheme. Launched on July 20, this move makes Germany the first market to adopt Wero within Decathlon's international operations.

Wero enables direct, real-time payments between bank accounts, authorized via mobile banking apps, thereby bypassing traditional card networks. The European Payments Initiative (EPI) aims for broad adoption, projecting 43 million active users by August 2025 and 56 million by July 2026. Decathlon joins other merchants like Eventim Live, with Lidl, Rossmann, and Hornbach anticipated to follow.

Patrick Müller, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer at Decathlon Germany, highlighted Wero's integration with their membership program, offering "genuine added value." This positions Wero as a loyalty tool and a potential cost-saver, circumventing the typical 1-2 percent processing fees associated with Visa and Mastercard. Decathlon also plans to extend Wero to its approximately 110 physical stores in Germany. An activation campaign offering a €10 voucher for Wero payments is scheduled for October.