Unfulfilled promise of digital sovereignty: European payment service Wero uses Amazon servers

**European Digital Sovereignty Questioned as Wero Payment Service Utilizes US Cloud Infrastructure** The European digital landscape is currently grappling with a critical challenge to its sovereignty. Wero, a new European payment service launched in July 2024, aims to provide a robust alternative to dominant US-based payment providers. However, the service's reliance on Amazon Web Services (AWS) for its cloud infrastructure raises significant concerns about the very independence it pledges to uphold. Wero, backed by the European Payments Initiative (EPI), a consortium of major European banks and financial institutions, promises instant peer-to-peer money transfers. Despite presenting itself as a strong and independent European solution, EPI has confirmed that Wero partially processes its services through AWS, a US-owned cloud provider. This reliance on foreign infrastructure not only contradicts Wero's stated mission of digital autonomy but also creates potential security vulnerabilities. The implications of using AWS are far-reaching, particularly concerning data protection and compliance with European regulations. While EPI asserts full control over the architecture and security of its services, including encryption, legal limitations remain. The use of US cloud infrastructure potentially exposes sensitive European user data to access by US authorities, undermining the EU's ambition for digital sovereignty. This situation highlights a broader trend within Europe's tech sector, where the pursuit of digital independence is often complicated by dependencies on global technology giants. As discussions around digital sovereignty intensify, the choice of infrastructure by key European digital services like Wero will be under close scrutiny, potentially shaping future regulatory approaches and market development.