In times of constant change, it is not only increased social commitment that is required. The digital world and, with it, payment transactions are also constantly evolving. As one of the largest payment transaction processors in Germany, the Savings Banks Finance Group is actively shaping the processes of change – both nationally and internationally. The European payment method Wero from the European Payments Initiative (EPI) now also embodies the claim “We make payments simpler, more secure and available anytime, anywhere”.
Wero is the new payment method of this European payment initiative, a merger of 16 European banks and financial services companies from France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, including the Savings Banks Finance Group. The aim of EPI is to establish Wero as a new brand with an omnichannel payment solution tailored to Europe and thus to shape the payment transactions of the future. The aim is to meet evolving customer needs and offer consumers and retailers a seamless and user-friendly payment experience. With Wero, the Savings Banks Finance Group’s main aim is to offer a centralised and international account-based solution that complements card-based payment solutions such as the Sparkassen-Card with Co-Badge. Wero also combines comprehensive payment options centred around the current account, which remains the hub of all activities. However, it is equally important to the Savings Banks to be able to offer a genuine alternative to the well-known products of internationally active, mostly US-based payment processors – with Wero in cooperation with the other institutions and payment service providers of EPI. The aim is to increase Europe’s independence in payment transactions.
Integrated or available as a separate app
The major strengths of the Savings Banks Finance Group to date have been geographically in Germany and in
terms of market share at the point of sale (POS), i.e. in shops. Conversely, this means that e-commerce and
the cross-border use of proprietary payment solutions still represent a major challenge. Wero is tailored
precisely to meet this challenge. Designed as an app, the digital wallet is available via EPI member
applications such as the Sparkasse app or as a standalone mobile solution on Android and iOS platforms.
Wero utilises SCT Inst*, the SEPA Credit Transfer Scheme already available in Europe, for the real-time processing of credit transfers in the SEPA area to enable faster payment flows with a wide range of value-added services. These include functions ranging from person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-professional (P2Pro) payments to online and mobile shopping payments, point-of-sale payments and the provision of loyalty programmes. Thanks to the omnichannel approach, EPI will combine all payment channels in the future in one application with Wero.
Market launch has already taken place
The payment system was launched in Belgium, France and Germany at the beginning of July 2024 with
mobile-to-mobile payments (P2P). A five-digit number of Savings Bank customers registered for Wero
in the very first week – without any active advertising. The Netherlands will follow by the end of
the year and expansion into other EU countries is planned in the coming years. Previously, in
December 2023, a test run of Wero between Sparkasse Elbe-Elster and the French Banque Populaire –
Caisse d’Epargne (Groupe BPCE) with real-time transfers between two accounts was successfully
completed – “two clicks, two seconds”.
Wero can also be a solution for the digital euro planned by the EU Commission and the ECB, which will notbe introduced until 2027 at the earliest. If the payment method has already established itself by the time it is introduced in Europe, EPI has a good chance that payments in the digital currency will be processed via Wero or that the system will even become their processing platform.
The payment strategy of the Savings Banks Finance Group underlines the ongoing commitment to constantly optimise the payment portfolio for private customers. With Wero at the centre of this strategy, there is an opportunity to build an innovative, independent and future-proof payment solution for Europe together with many strong EPI partners.
* SEPA Instant Credit Transfer.