Should Revolut and Paypal start to worry? Wero payment system launched

The Wero payment system, developed under the European Payments Initiative,  started operating in July 2024 in the EU. The European Payment Initiative is a joint project between 14 EU banks and two payment companies, launched in 2020. It aims to develop payment solutions that can compete with financial giants in the US, including Visa and Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay. The project is backed by key EU players, including the European Central Bank and the European Commission.

The introduction of the Wero payment system will allow customers of a number of financial institutions, including in Germany and Belgium, to transfer money from one mobile device to another using a phone number or email address, and will eliminate the need for the recipient's 22-digit IBAN. The money will be credited to the recipient’s account within ten seconds. The Netherlands and France are expected to join the system soon, with Deutsche Bank in Germany joining later this year.

On Wero’s official website, the clear objective is to become the leading payment system on the continent, as Europe can benefit from the introduction and expansion of its own payment system. It could reduce financial market fragmentation, simplify cross-border financial transactions and improve the harmonisation of credit card acceptance. Last but not least, the transactions themselves could become more secure.

It is expected that Wero users will be able to pay for online and in-store purchases through this system from 2025.