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ING Rolls Out European Payment Service Wero to 10 Million German Customers

This move advances a Europe-wide push for payment sovereignty, even though consumer awareness remains modest with active usage lagging registration figures.

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ING Bank Logo an der Fassade der Firmenzentrale
ING-Deutschland-Chef Lars Stoy präsentiert Wero, den neuen Bezahldienst, der Überweisungen per Handynummer oder E-Mail ermöglichen soll.
France, Clonas, 2024/10/02. Wero payment solution. Woman with logo of the peer-to-peer payment service. Photograph by Romain Doucelin / Hans Lucas. France, Clonas, 2024/10/02. Solution de paiement Wero. Femme avec logo du service de paiements entre particuliers. Photographie de Romain Doucelin / Hans Lucas.

Overview

  • ING will integrate Wero into its German banking app in August, giving roughly ten million customers instant access to the service.
  • Wero enables SEPA real-time, account-to-account transfers via phone number, email address or QR code without requiring an IBAN or separate wallet.
  • EPI reports about 42.5 million registered Wero users across participant countries, but a Verivox survey finds just 30% awareness, 10% registration and 4.2% active use in Germany.
  • The service is already available through Sparkassen, Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken, Postbank and a standalone app, with talks to expand into the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Austria ahead of planned online and in-store merchant integrations.
  • Analysts warn that strong bank and political backing for Wero could amount to a subsidised intervention, raising questions about fair competition and its long-term economic viability.