European Banks Launch Wero, a New Payment Service to Compete with PayPal
July 2, 2024 – The European Payments Initiative (EPI) has officially launched Wero, a new payment service that enables payments from smartphone to smartphone. Wero has partnered with 14 European banks and two payment service providers to establish a competitor to PayPal.
Key Features of Wero
- Allows customers to transfer money from one mobile phone to another
- Supported by banking apps from participating financial institutions
- Requires recipient’s cell phone number or email address
- No IBAN required
- Transfers are free and take place in real-time, with a maximum credit time of 10 seconds
Participating Banks
- Most German savings banks and cooperative banks
- KBC, a Belgian bank
- Banks from the Netherlands and France are expected to follow
Non-Participating Banks
- Deutsche Bank
- Postbank
- Commerzbank
- ING
Future Developments
- Online payments will be enabled in 2025
- Payments in retail stores will be enabled in 2026
How to Use Wero
- Your financial institution’s banking app must support Wero
- You need the recipient’s cell phone number or email address
- The 22-digit IBAN is not required