EPI Company
Freelance Head of Marketing
September 2022—November 2023
Where it started
With major cross-border payment solutions such as Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, ApplePay, Google Wallet, AliPay and UnionPay all being American or Chinese, Europe had a critical vulnerability: no European owned cross-border payment solution. Add to this, tensions around data protection between the EU and US, and the shift towards a cashless society, all meaning that the EU needed a way to gain control and retain sovereignty over the Euro, quickly.
Supported by the European Commission and the European Central Bank and founded by 16 of Europe’s largest financial institutions (representing 75% of retail banking customers in the launch countries) the European Payments Initiative, also known as EPI, officially formed in mid 2020. The group successfully launched their home-grown digital wallet, Wero, in 2024. This innovative wallet works seamlessly across borders, between banks and for a variety of payment types (peer-to-peer, online and in-store). It is currently operating in Belgium, France and Germany, with plans for rapid expansion.
EPI Company’s original logo in 2022
Challenges
While EPI was in many ways a start-up (albeit a well-resourced one) it was relatively high-profile even before the product launch, with the eyes of the payment world watching closely. When I took on the role we were being asked monthly, if not weekly by stakeholders and the media what the name of the digital wallet would be. With naming, trademark registration and branding taking a combined minimum of 12 months, how can we reassure stakeholders, staff and the industry that we are working hard behind the scenes, despite not being able to share any news about the highly confidential naming and branding process?
Prior to my arrival the team had envisaged a name which would work for both the company and the digital wallet product. The naming process was already underway, working with two different creative agencies. How do we create a new brand which is both extremely corporate and professional, at the same time as entering the market as a challenger brand directly targeting younger consumers?
EPI Company’s new brand identity launched in March 2023
Results
Creation of a brand strategy which identified the need for EPI Company to remain as a parent brand, allowing space for the product, eventually named Wero, to have it’s own separate name and brand identity as a consumer brand.
Creation of the parent company’s industry-facing tagline and brand promise: Changing the way Europe pays.
In order to reassure stakeholders, partners, staff, the media and wider payments industry that EPI Company were capable and professional, despite not being able to share the digital wallet brand yet, we undertook an expedited re-brand process. A new logo, logo animation, colour palette and visual identity system was developed for EPI Company in just three short months.
Corporate stationery such as Powerpoint templates, letterheads and business cards were created, enabling management, sales and marketing teams to appear professional and cohesive rather than temporary and disjointed.
EPI Company’s corporate brand was awarded a Red Dot design award in 2024 in the Corporate Identity category.
EPI Company’s new logo features a tick symbol commonly associated with confirmation of payment. When animated, the tick symbol becomes a bridge, representing EPI as a link between countries, institutions and people. The concept is a nod to Euro bank notes which each feature a fictitious bridge, symbolising unity between EU nations.