European Payment System Wero Launches – Model Is “Twint”
14 European banks and two payment companies want to compete with “Wero” against American companies such as Mastercard, Visa and PayPal: an email address or mobile phone number is enough – money is transferred within 10 seconds.
Paying and transferring money via app in seconds will soon be possible in the EU — even without Apple, Samsung, Visa or Paypal collecting the money (avatar).
Photo: Karl Josef Hildenbrand/DPA (Keystone)
The new European payment system Wero has been launched by the European Payments Initiative (EPI). The model is the Swiss “Twint” and, unlike traditional transfers, Wero users do not need the recipient’s 22-digit IBAN (International Bank Account Number). Instead, you can use a mobile phone number or email address to transfer money in real time. Real time means that the money is credited to the recipient’s account within ten seconds. From 2025, you should also be able to pay with Wero online and from 2026 in retail stores.
Belgian bank KBC is also on board to launch Wero. Other partner banks from the Netherlands and France are set to follow. However, Deutsche Bank, its subsidiary Postbank, and ING have not yet joined. But experts expect it to launch this year. On the other hand, Commerzbank, DZ-Bank, and new banks like N26 have been ruled out.
Against PayPal and Co.
Wero is run by the European Payments Initiative (EPI), a joint venture of 14 banks and two payment companies. The partners want to compete against large American financial groups such as Mastercard, Visa and PayPal. In addition, the progress of Apple Pay and Google Pay must be stopped. An example is the smartphone payment solution Twint from Switzerland, which is very popular in that country.
“Wero will strengthen European sovereignty in payment transactions,” said Joachim Schmalzl, member of the DSGV Savings Banks Association and chairman of the EPI Supervisory Board. “So far we do not have our own common payment procedures in Europe.”
European payment method
Even strong national measures such as Girocard in Germany or Carte Bancaire in France rely on non-European providers for cross-border payments, Schmalzl stressed. “Wero will end this dependency sustainably and in the long term by offering a European alternative and thus preserving added value in the area of intra-European payment transactions.”
Savings and cooperative bank customers do not have to install a new app on their smartphones to try Wero, but can activate the function in their banking app. If you want to not only send money via Wero, but also receive it, you must also enter your mobile number or email address in the banking app.
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