The European payment service Wero, designed as an alternative to U.S. giants like PayPal, is about to gain significant momentum as Europe’s largest direct bank ING plans to integrate it into its mobile banking app for ten million customers in Germany later this month. “We will go live with Wero in August,” said ING Germany CEO Lars Stoy in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur in Frankfurt. He emphasized that ING will be among the first German banks to fully integrate the service into its own app, calling it an important feature for the entire group — reports G.business with reference to dpa.
Wero enables instant money transfers using the recipient’s phone number or email address instead of their bank account number. The service is part of the European Payments Initiative (EPI), an alliance of European banks and payment providers aiming to reduce reliance on U.S.-based systems like PayPal, Mastercard, and Visa.
EPI officially launched Wero in early July 2024. Initially, it was available only to customers of Sparkassen and Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken through their respective banking apps. Later, a standalone Wero app was introduced, which has been available at Postbank since the end of November.
Currently, Wero operates in Germany, France, and Belgium, with talks underway for expansion to Austria. According to the latest figures, the service has 42.5 million registered users across participating countries. By comparison, PayPal claims 35 million active accounts in Germany alone.
“Europe needs to develop its own payment systems to become more independent from other providers,” Stoy said. He added that ING, serving around 40 million customers across Europe, will make every effort to ensure Wero’s success.
The integration of Wero by ING marks a major step in expanding European payment options. By allowing transfers via phone number or email, the service offers a faster and more user-friendly alternative to traditional bank transfers. With availability already in Germany, France, and Belgium — and Austria potentially next — Wero is building a strong presence in the market. Backed by the European Payments Initiative, it reflects Europe’s commitment to reducing dependency on U.S. payment systems. ING’s involvement, leveraging its 40 million customers, could accelerate adoption and help establish Wero as a credible rival to established brands like PayPal.
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