EPI launches digital wallet solution Wero in Germany
The European Payments Initiative (EPI) has launched Wero, its digital wallet and instant account-to-account payments solution, with its initial rollout taking place in Germany.
EPI debuts Wero solution in Germany
The solution is now available for customers of the German Savings Banks Association (DSVG) and DZ Bank, the central institution of the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken Cooperative Financial Network in Germany.
This will be followed by a similar launch with Postbank and the retail arm of Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest bank, “at the end of summer”.
The EPI is made up of 16 European member banks and payment service providers who have joined forces with the common goal “to offer a unified digital payment service for all European businesses and citizens”, the group says.
Further down the timeline, the EPI says it plans to launch Wero in Belgium through bank-insurance group KBC by the end of July, followed by a go-live in France scheduled for either September or October.
These phased launches will lead up to a full-scale launch among the EPI’s member banks, which includes banks from the Netherlands, the UK, Spain and Italy, “within the next six months”.
The first recipients of Wero will initially be able to use the service to complete person-to-person (P2P) transactions in under 10 seconds via either a QR code, email address or phone number. Its remit will then be expanded to include the ability to transfer and request money to and from third parties, and to complete cross-border payments between users.
By 2025, Wero is expected to be able to support direct in-wallet payments to SMEs, online merchant payments via a QR code and the management of recurring payments, before being further expanded with in-store payment, expense sharing, programme integration and buy now, pay later (BNPL) capabilities the following year.
Martina Weimert, CEO of EPI, says the service’s opening remit of P2P payments seeks to “familiarise consumers with Wero”, but adds that, over time, the ambition is to offer “all kind of payments through a single wallet combining the simplicity, immediacy and security of the banks”.
EPI chairman Dr Joachim Schmalzl comments that the launch “marks an important step towards enhancing Europe’s financial independence”.
“Further steps and functionalities will follow, gradually establishing Wero as a central solution for all transactions,” he adds.
