The European Payments Initiative (EPI) has announced the launch of the Wero instant account-to-account payment service in France. The service will initially be available to customers of several French banks, including BNP Paribas, Groupe BPCE, Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, La Banque Postale, and Société Générale, along with their subsidiaries.

While most of these banks will integrate Wero into their existing applications, La Banque Postale will offer a dedicated Wero app available in app stores starting in October 2024. Wero is a person-to-person (P2P) payment service that allows users to send and receive money instantly using either a phone number or email address. The service is positioned to replace Paylib, and Paylib users will be given an option to switch to Wero before the service’s discontinuation in early 2025.

Wero will eventually expand its features to include additional functionalities, such as requesting money and generating individual QR codes to enhance privacy during transactions. Cross-Border expansion and future developments Wero follows a phased rollout, with Germany already live since July 2024. Users in France and Germany will soon be able to make cross-border payments between the participating banks in both countries.

Belgium is expected to complete its deployment of Wero by the end of 2024, while Luxembourg and the Netherlands are scheduled for subsequent releases. The Wero service aims to provide a unified mobile payment platform across Europe, enabling users to handle various types of payments through their bank’s app or the standalone Wero app. The service will offer real-time tracking of payments and aims to streamline the payment process securely.

In addition to P2P payments, EPI plans to roll out merchant payments starting in 2025. This will begin with small retailers and eventually include online payments and recurring payment management, such as subscriptions. Point-of-sale payments at larger retailers are scheduled for testing in 2026.

Other planned features include Buy Now-Pay Later (BNPL) options, merchant loyalty programme integration, and shared spending functionalities. Regarding this new product launch, officials from EPI highlighted that Wero was designed as a European solution for modern digital payments. They emphasised the platform's ability to consolidate multiple payment types into one service, starting with P2P transactions, while ensuring security and instant processing.

Representatives from BNP Paribas pointed out that Wero meets the strategic need for a European payment platform in the context of a competitive global landscape. They added that the initiative will bring added value and ease of use for customers across the region. .