The European Payments Initiative selected a name for its upcoming digital wallet — wero
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The European Payments Initiative (EPI) has decided on the name for its upcoming digital wallet solution.
The wallet will be called wero, according to the press release published last week, on September 21. Apart from the wallet’s new name, EPI also said that the wallet will be introduced in phases, initially to support account-to-account-based instant payments.
The payments will be both P2P and consumer-to-business. However, in time, EPI intends to add support for online and mobile shopping payments and, finally, point-of-sale payments.
Why wero?
According to EPI, the new name was chosen after the Initiative moved to acquire Dutch payment scheme iDeal and Payconiq earlier this year in April. This mobile payments app is supported by several Dutch and Belgian banks.
So far, a number of banks have backed the scheme, including BFCM, Credit Agricole, ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, BPCE, BZ Bank, La Banqua Postale, Deutsche Bank, ING, DSGV, KBC, Robobank, and Societe Generale. In addition, the initiative also managed to secure support from Worldline and Nexi.
EPI CEO Martina Welmert commented on the new brand, saying: “In a market filled with predictable ‘pay’ brand names, wero stood out from a list of 238 candidate names we considered since it combines different elements which we stand for: the collective European character of the ‘we’ and a pronunciation close to the word ‘Euro’. Finally, wero is close to ‘vero’, meaning ‘true’ in Latin-based languages. I personally find it catchy with its simple yet memorable structure. The short and snappy sound resonates with the fast-paced nature of digital transactions.”
wero to launch by mid-2024
The strategic initiative plans to deliver a solution for digital payments in Europe in a way that will meet the evolving payment needs of the people. The solution will be seamless and user-friendly for both merchants and regular consumers.
Even so, wero is set to redefine how European citizens will pay and receive payments. Apart from P2P payments and consumer-to-merchant payments, the wallet will also offer loyalty programs and other features to keep the users engaged and the wallet rewarding and useful.
Finally, the announcement said that wero will be available through EPI member banks’ apps but also as a standalone mobile application for iOS and Android platforms. The hope is that wero will be live by mid-2024 in Germany, France, and Belgium, with the next market being the Netherlands. After that, EPI will focus on including other European nations in years to come.
