Today the European Payments Initiative (EPI) unveiled the name of its wallet as ‘wero’ a contraction of ‘we’ and the ‘euro’. The group is backed by 14 European banks plus payment providers nexi and Worldline. It’s entirely possible that wero could become the dominant wallet for the digital euro central bank digital currency (CBDC). That follows participation in digital euro trials earlier this year.
In April the EPI acquired Dutch payment scheme iDEAL and Luxembourg payment solutions provider Payconiq International (PQI). At the time there was mention of a pilot later this year in France and Germany, but today’s announcement was silent on that point.
The launch of the wallet app in Belgium, France and Germany was pushed back from early 2024 to mid-2024. The Netherlands is next, and other countries will roll out in 2025 onwards.
Launch functionality will include fast payments, person-to-person (P2P) transactions, online shopping support and loyalty programs. Wero will appear within banking apps as well as a standalone app on Android and iOS.
