Real-Time Transactions Launch: ING Unveils Competing PayPal Service Called Wero
Wero: A European Payment Alternative Gains Momentum
Wero, a pan-European digital wallet launched by the European Payments Initiative (EPI), is making waves in the financial sector. The goal of EPI is to create a European payment alternative to counter US competitors like PayPal, Mastercard, and Visa.
The latest development in Wero's journey comes from ING, Europe's largest direct bank. ING Germany's CEO, Lars Stoy, announced the integration of Wero in an interview with the German Press Agency in Frankfurt. This move marks one of the first instances of a German bank fully integrating this service.
Wero, which operates within bank apps or its own Wero app, is positioning itself as a competitor to PayPal in Europe. It offers direct bank-to-bank instant payments with no card fees for merchants and a streamlined user experience. However, skepticism remains about its ability to quickly catch up with PayPal’s established market presence, particularly in Germany.
ING plans to offer Wero's payment service to its ten million customers in Germany starting in August. The number of active Wero users in Germany is not specified, but the service has already seen success in other countries. Since early July 2024, Wero's phone-to-phone payment service has been operational for customers of Sparkasse, Volksbank, and Raiffeisenbank via their respective apps.
The European Payments Initiative (EPI) has 42.5 million registered users in the participating countries, which include Belgium, France, Germany, and negotiations for Austria are ongoing. Apart from Germany, Wero is already available in France and Belgium. The expansion of Wero to other European countries is a current focus for the European Payments Initiative (EPI).
ING, with around 40 million customers, is aiming to make Wero a success, with a focus on Europe. ING Bank is one of the major banks backing the European Payments Initiative alongside Deutsche Bank and others, which jointly support Wero's development and rollout. Revolut, although not a traditional bank like ING, has also integrated Wero into its offerings, suggesting that Wero seeks widespread adoption through both traditional banks and fintechs.
Wero's payment service allows users to send money in real-time to a mobile number or email address, without needing the recipient's account number. It offers primarily free real-time money transfers between users who have activated the service; eCommerce payments and POS payments are planned expansions. The service operates within bank apps or its own Wero app, leveraging trust in local banks and reducing merchant costs by eliminating card processing fees for transactions.
ING Germany's CEO Stoy stated that Europeans should work on their own payment systems to reduce dependence on other payment procedures. The integration of Wero into ING Germany's banking app is expected to happen in August, providing a significant boost to Wero's growth in the German market.
PayPal, which has 35 million active customer accounts in Germany alone, may integrate with European solutions like Wero in the future to enhance interoperability. However, its full impact is still unfolding amid competition and adoption challenges.
In summary, Wero is actively rolling out across major European markets, providing real-time, multi-channel payments integrated with banks like ING, aiming to offer a pan-European alternative to PayPal with strong bank backing and planned expansions into broader payment use cases including POS and eCommerce.
To apply the Wero payment service offered by ING Germany, customers can do so starting in August. This move is part of ING's strategy to finance the growth of Wero, a European alternative to US payment giants like PayPal, Mastercard, and Visa.
With the integration of Wero into their banking app, ING aims to leverage technology to provide a streamlined business operation and user experience, positioning Wero as a competitive alternative to existing payment solutions in Europe.
