The launch of the Wero digital wallet represents a major milestone in advancing a unified European payment solution – and at Payments Cards & Mobile we covered this initiative a lot in 2024.
Can Wero shape the future of European payments?
In this discussion with Martina Weimert, CEO of the European Payments Initiative (EPI), we explore the motivation behind Wero, its standout features, roadmap, the EPI’s perspective on the digital euro, plans for geographical expansion and the innovative future developments set to transform Europe’s payment landscape.
Can you briefly explain the motivation behind launching the Wero digital wallet and its roadmap?
The ambition of the Wero digital wallet is to offer a European sovereign unified payment solution to address the needs of consumers, professionals and merchants in all European markets.
Furthermore, all our shareholders want to bundle their innovation investment in this area of payments so they can create synergies and become more relevant nationally and internationally against global competitors.
The roadmap started with Person-to-Person (P2P) payments, launched in 2024 and will follow in 2025 with the launch of e-commerce and m-commerce payments. We conducted a successful proof of concept in Germany in December this year.
Later in 2026 and 2027, Wero will offer Point of Sales (PoS) payments as well as subscriptions management and value-added services.
Which standout features of the Wero digital wallet differentiate it from other digital wallets currently available? How do these features enhance the user experience?
First and foremost, Wero is a European solution, offering consumers across multiple countries (Belgium, France and Germany for now, followed by the Netherlands and Luxembourg) a common payment solution that allows them to pay digitally, easily and safely with a mobile for all payment use cases.
This is unique and does not mean a different integration for each market.
Simplicity of use was crucial from the starting point of our project. We wanted everyone to use it in their daily life, which is why we relied on instant payment first.
Control is also a paramount topic when it comes to personal finance and payment conversations. This is simplified by the account-to-account model we chose as a pillar for Wero’s payment means.
This will benefit both consumers and professionals as it will allow them to check their balance directly before making a payment.
What is EPI’s view on the digital euro? Is Wero digital wallet going to support the digital euro and in which way?
We believe in unification and collaboration between the different Member States, which was the starting point of our adventure as well as of the digital euro. Both initiatives want to support European sovereignty actively.
EPI is willing to integrate the digital euro to allow consumers to leverage this payment means in the Wero wallet.
This integration will bring a real benefit to consumers and decrease the implementation burden for banks. In this context, cooperation with the European Central Bank (ECB) on topics like standards will be crucial to the Wero wallet.
Will Wero’s digital wallet be expanding to new countries after the initial ones (Germany, France and the Benelux)?
EPI was built with the ambition of becoming a pan-European solution. Geographical expansion is indeed part of our roadmap. Discussions are ongoing with several banks across Europe to become members of EPI and implement Wero.
Success in the first core markets is crucial to initiating a broader move to Wero at European level.
What are the most interesting future developments we can expect from EPI and Wero digital wallet?
Wero’s development and roadmap definition has been designed to anticipate unsatisfied and new needs and create solutions for consumer and professional requests powered by the new technology.
Subscription management, for instance, will be the first to exist in a payment solution, allowing everyone to switch off some subscriptions whenever they feel the need.
QR code generation and payments through this technology are also somewhat new to Europe as a solution to initiating transactions without a terminal or cash register.
Another forthcoming payment feature that really differentiates us is the Scan&Go, which is based on QR code scanning, to allow, for instance, ‘phygital’ shopping, bicycle rental or public transportation access.
Instead of constantly downloading new apps to fit the different services and needs, one mobile solution will allow everyone to manage all their payments with clear control and safety.
This is clearly a game-changer in the industry, and we must capitalise on this promise.
Value-added services are also on the EPI roadmap, given that a wallet cannot be limited to payments if it’s to succeed and be adopted by consumers.
This includes the integration of merchant loyalty programmes and digital identity services.
This interview was originally published in the European Payments Council (EPC) Newsletter
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