An online payment system created by the European Payments Initiative (EPI) is launching in Germany at the end of June. What is wero and how does it work?

Germany set to join wero European digital payment system

At the end of June, the new “wero” online payment system will be launched in Germany, Belgium and France.

Wero is a project of the European Payments Initiative (EPI), an organisation comprising 20 European central banks, which was founded in 2020 with the main goal of creating a pan-European online payment system.

Shortly after it has been launched in Germany, wero will be rolled out in the Netherlands and eventually to “other countries in the future”, according to the EPI. The ultimate goal of wero is to create a European “unified account-to-account solution [...] in-store, online, and “person-to-person”, and rival the US competition posed by Apple Pay, Pay Pal, Mastercard and Visa.

How will wero change digital banking in Germany?

Deutsche Bank, Volksbank, Sparkasse, Postbank, Sparda-Bank, PSD Bank, GLS Bank and BB Bank are among the bank branches taking part in the new wero system. This means that these banks will now offer wero services to their customers.

Using the wero app available on iOS and Android, users will be able to transfer money between accounts in Germany, France and Belgium - with more countries soon to join - “within seconds” around the clock, regardless of the day of the week.

The EPI hopes the continent-wide payment system will eventually replace national banking networks such as Germany’s girocard. Wero will also not be subject to the fees that girocard customers incur when they use their card in Europe but outside the Eurozone, such as in Sweden or Denmark.

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