Europe is entering a new phase in digital payments. On one side, Wero is building a new European payment ecosystem with its own wallet experience, governance structure, and participation model. On the other, Pay by Bank is scaling across Europe on top of Open Banking — an open regulatory framework that allows direct connectivity between banks, merchants, PSPs, and platforms.
At first glance, both may appear similar: both enable account-to-account payments and both position themselves as part of Europe’s payment future. But underneath, the models are fundamentally different. One is based on an open standard. The other is based on a controlled ecosystem. And that distinction matters more than many realise.
Open Banking was designed as open infrastructure
Open Banking was introduced to open up Europe’s banking infrastructure through standardised APIs and regulated access.
The idea was simple: create a framework where licensed providers can securely connect to banks without depending on proprietary schemes or closed payment networks. This created an open ecosystem where:
- banks remain accessible through standardised interfaces
- PSPs and fintechs can innovate independently
- merchants can integrate payments more flexibly
- competition happens at service level, not at network ownership level
Pay by Bank is built directly on top of this infrastructure.
It uses Open Banking connectivity and instant payment rails to initiate payments directly between bank accounts — without introducing a separate scheme layer on top.
Wero introduces a controlled payment ecosystem
Wero takes a different approach. Rather than functioning as open infrastructure, Wero introduces a new governed payment ecosystem with its own rules, governance, participation structure, and branded payment experience.
This means that participation is not simply about technical connectivity. It also means aligning with:
- a central governance model
- scheme participation rules
- ecosystem-defined roadmap decisions
- controlled user experience standards
In practice, this creates a more closed model than Open Banking itself. The payment experience, ecosystem evolution, and commercial structure are centrally coordinated rather than openly programmable.
Open standard vs controlled framework
The key distinction is not just technical. It is architectural. Open Banking allows multiple providers, PSPs, and merchants to innovate independently on top of shared infrastructure. No single party owns the payment experience. No single scheme controls how innovation evolves.
With Wero, innovation happens inside the boundaries of the ecosystem itself. That creates a fundamentally different dynamic:
- Open Banking enables decentralised innovation
- Wero introduces coordinated ecosystem innovation
One optimises for openness and flexibility. The other optimises for standardisation and ecosystem control.
Why openness matters for merchants and PSPs
For merchants and PSPs, Open Banking creates strategic flexibility. Because Pay by Bank is infrastructure-based:
- payment flows can be embedded directly into existing customer journeys
- orchestration remains configurable
- providers can innovate independently
- integrations are not tied to a single scheme roadmap
This becomes increasingly important as payments become more embedded inside platforms, apps, and digital ecosystems.
With a scheme model, the payment experience gradually becomes more standardised around the scheme itself.
With Open Banking infrastructure, the merchant or platform keeps control over:
- UX
- orchestration
- routing
- customer interaction
- innovation pace
That flexibility is one of the core reasons Pay by Bank continues to gain traction across Europe.
Openness also changes competition
Open Banking lowers barriers to innovation. Because the infrastructure itself is open:
- new providers can enter the market more easily
- merchants are less dependent on a single ecosystem
- competition happens on service quality, pricing, and user experience
Closed schemes naturally centralise more control around governance and participation. That is not necessarily negative — schemes can create consistency and strong consumer recognition. But it does create structural dependency.
And history shows that dependency often leads to:
- reduced flexibility
- slower innovation cycles
- growing cost layers over time
Europe’s payment future: openness or ecosystem control?
Wero reflects Europe’s ambition to strengthen payment sovereignty through a unified European ecosystem.
Pay by Bank reflects a different vision: European payments built on open infrastructure, interoperable bank connectivity, and decentralised innovation.
Both models will likely coexist. But they represent fundamentally different philosophies. Wero asks participants to join an ecosystem. Pay by Bank allows participants to build on infrastructure.
And that difference will shape:
- who controls the payment experience
- how innovation evolves
- how flexible integrations remain
- and how independent merchants and PSPs can stay over time
At IBANXS, we believe the future of payments is built on open infrastructure. Because open standards create flexibility. And flexibility creates innovation.