Only 2% of Germans have tried Wero so far

Wero, the new payment service backed by major European banks, remains largely unknown and unloved in Germany. Despite an introductory campaign, seven out of eight Germans report being unaware of the payment method, and only 2 percent have tried Wero so far.

This was reported by Der Spiegel, based on research from comparison portal Verivox. “Wero is currently a flop,” headlines the prominent news outlet. The mobile-first wallet and instant account-to-account payment service was launched more than four months ago with an introductory campaign, with Germany as the pilot market. Wero is now also live in Belgium and France, with other European countries to follow.

European Payments Initiative

Wero is a product of the European Payments Initiative (EPI), that is backed by the European Commission and has 16 founding shareholders based in Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Together, the banks aim to establish a pan-European payment system and reclaim market share from American companies like PayPal – the leader in the online payments market in Germany – as well as Mastercard, Visa, and Apple. Wero is based on the acquired Dutch online payment system iDEAL, which is the dominant online payment method in the Netherlands.

With Wero, European banks aim to regain ground from American companies.

However, given the weak response from the German public, Der Spiegel concludes that little is likely to change in the near future. One reason is that Wero is not yet available at all major German banks.

Added value

According to Verivox director Oliver Maier, Wero currently lacks added value, as it only offers a function to send money from A to B. Wero is expected to become available as a payment method for webshops in the new year, and later for use in physical stores. Maier argues that a comprehensive payment solution is needed to provide real competition to American companies.

Real-time transfers

Wero is based on the European standard for real-time transfers, allowing banks to connect easily and enabling money to move from one account to another within 10 seconds. “It is simple, seamless, and secure”, reads Wero’s website.

‘Wero is simple, seamless, and secure.’

The payment method is still under development, but the ambition is clear: “Wero aims to become the standard for European consumers and merchants”, according to the EPI.