EPI launches Wero, its innovative digital payment wallet in Belgium.

Brussels, 19th November 2024  

European Payments Initiative (EPI), the European-grown player committed to offering a sovereign payment alternative to all consumers in Europe, today announced the official launch of its mobile wallet1 and instant account-to-account payment solution, Wero in Belgium, for all its shareholding member banks. Users can now send or receive money by scanning or generating Wero QR codes. This launch follows the successful rollouts in Germany and France, which kicked off respectively in July and at the end of September. EPI’s ambition is simple: to become a single, secure digital wallet bringing together all payment functionalities in one payment solution for all Europeans.

In Belgium, Wero is already integrated into the banking applications of EPI’s member banks: Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, Fintro, Hello bank!, ING, KBC and CBC.

The deployment calendar of every bank member and the features available are detailed below:

Users will be able to transfer and receive money simply and instantly to and from third parties, account to account, either through a payment QR code or directly towards people in the contact list of their smartphone for free.

"One of Wero’s strengths is its ease of use. Wero is already integrated into the mobile apps of participating Belgian banks. So, their customers can benefit directly from its many advantages and pay or receive money in a large geographical area, without having to change their payment habits or install a new app"

Turkan Goktas, Head of Marketing Payments, Belfius.

Cross-border payments to contacts in France and Germany, for a start, will also be automatically integrated. The Netherlands and Luxembourg will follow in a subsequent step.

"We are convinced the all-in-one payment solution will bring a strong competitive advantage to leverage business in Europe. Wero will become the one payment solution with one recognisable brand that customers trust and can use in both offline and online environments. In addition, the banking app will become for the consumers the only app needed for any spending in the participant countries"

Amaury Vanthournout, Global Product Lead Payments, ING Belgium

Wero’s current and future functionalities

Next to payments to friends and families, or to professionals, Wero's services will be enhanced with new features from 2025 onwards, such as subscription payments and management (for Streamz, Spotify, etc.), deposits (for car rentals, hotel reservations, etc.), instalments (down-payments in 3/5/10 times), event-dependent payments (pay at delivery), usage-dependent payments (reserving maximum amount before fuelling/charging the car), consumer-present future payments (one-click payments), consumer-absent future payments (electricity supply, city transport, etc.), no-show payments (in a restaurant, a hotel, etc.), or a combination of some or all of the features mentioned above.

"KBC always plays a leading role in innovations, certainly in the field of payments. Customers expect to see a payment on their account immediately. Wero is the solution that meets this expectation. On top of that, Wero will soon also allow online payments, which is definitely a strong asset for a European payment method"

Ivo De Meersman, General Manager Payments & Cards Belgium, KBC

Towards one single payment solution in Europe

In October 2023, EPI has acquired Payconiq International in Belgium, the company operating the technical platform of Payconiq payments and iDEAL in the Netherlands. Payconiq was one of the first players in the payments industry to lean towards digital use cases, through text messages.

Thanks to its market presence and know-how of Payconiq International in Belgium and Currence iDeal in The Netherlands, and combining it with a new proprietary technology platform, EPI is now able to offer all kinds of payments through a single state-of-the-art solution, designed by and for Europeans, offering great simplicity, efficiency and security. Belgium, being the heart of Europe, fully embodies what the European Payments Initiative is ambitioning to achieve with this project.

"The successful launches of Wero in France, Germany and Belgium, followed by The Netherlands and Luxembourg, represent two third of all digital payments in Europe. When looking at these numbers it’s only logic Wero will be launched in numerous other European countries in the near future as well."

Martina Weimert, CEO, European Payments Initiative

"We are proud to introduce Wero, designed to place our customer’s demand for a unified payment solution at the center of their interactions in this fast-paced, interconnected world. Thanks to this collective mobilisation, we have the capacity to invest, to digitise and continue to innovate our services, and thus become more competitive on a global scale."

Michael Anseeuw, CEO, BNPP-Fortis

Bancontact Payconiq Company and EPI enter a strategic partnership

Bancontact Payconiq Company (BPC) and EPI are collaborating in the context of the launch of Wero in Belgium. BPC will distribute Wero towards its merchants clients, allowing them to accept Wero payments at their shops and gradually migrating these volumes to Wero, without having to change anything for this evolution.

Both payment methods, Payconiq and Wero will co-exist for the time being. Consumers can continue to exchange funds with friends and family with their trusted payment apps and pay at merchants by scanning a QR code, regardless of the payment app used. Once the solution will be integrated by the Belgian banks and when the transition phase will be over, Payconiq will be replaced by Wero.

This set-up aims to ensure continued service quality for consumers and merchants, and to cater for a smooth transition. ​ The date of discontinuation of Payconiq will be communicated in the course of 2025.

"We are happy to announce our partnership with EPI. This collaboration reflects the ambition of both companies and our shareholding banks to continue the success story of mobile payments in Belgium and to ensure continuity for our merchants and app users. As a strong local player servicing all Belgian people the best way we can has always been our priority number one"

Nathalie Vandepeute, CEO, Bancontact Payconiq Company

"Indeed, with BPC on our side on the Belgian market, I’m convinced that Wero will be smoothly integrated, and we will turn this into a true success story for Belgium. And knowing that we successfully launched Wero in France and Germany already, I dare to say that the future of Wero looks bright"

Martina Weimert, CEO, European Payments Initiative

Wero will be available integrated into the applications of EPI member banks and, later, as a standalone mobile application on Android and iOS platforms.

Maxence Paternotte

Reputation

• maxence.paternotte@reputation.be
• +32 473 35 86 52
   

Amélie Scheepers

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• amelie.scheepers@reputation.be
• +32 495 32 25 63

About EPI

EPI or European Payments Initiative is supported by 16 European banks and payment service providers. They have joined forces with a common objective: to offer a unified digital payment service for all European businesses and citizens, Wero. EPI intends to enable European consumers and merchants to make next-generation payments for all types of retail transactions via a digital wallet. Based on instant account-to-account payments, Wero will further streamline payments in Europe by eliminating intermediaries in the payment chain and the associated costs. Wero will initially support P2P payments. This will be followed by P2Pro payments and payments for online and mobile purchases. Point-of-sale payments will also be included, along with value-added services, such as merchant loyalty programs. 

About Belfius

Belfius Bank & Insurance is a solid bank-insurer owned by the Belgian federal government. With 160 years of experience in the public sector and 60 years in the segment for personal customers, Belfius is deeply rooted in the Belgian economy and society:

• Partner of 3.8 million individuals, self-employed workers and SMEs
• Prominent player in the corporate and business market
• Leading bank in public and nonprofit sectors
• Important brand in Life and Non-Life insurance
• Reference bank for Private and Wealth Management

About BNP Paribas Fortis

BNP Paribas Fortis offers the Belgian market a comprehensive range of financial services for private individuals, the self-employed, professionals, companies and public organisations. In the insurance sector, BNP Paribas Fortis works closely, as a tied agent, with Belgian market leader AG Insurance. At international level, the Bank also provides high-net-worth individuals, large corporations and public and financial institutions with customised solutions, for which it is able to draw on the know-how and international network of the BNP Paribas Group.

BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is the European Union’s leading bank and key player in international banking. It operates in 65 countries and has nearly 185,000 employees, including more than 145,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main fields of activity: Commercial, Personal Banking & Services for the Group’s commercial & personal banking and several specialised businesses including BNP Paribas Personal Finance and Arval; Investment & Protection Services for savings, investment and protection solutions; and Corporate & Institutional Banking, focused on corporate and institutional clients. Based on its strong diversified and integrated model, the Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realise their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance. In Europe, BNP Paribas has four domestic markets: Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg. The Group is rolling out its integrated commercial & personal banking model across several Mediterranean countries, Turkey, and Eastern Europe. As a key player in international banking, the Group has leading platforms and business lines in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific. BNP Paribas has implemented a Corporate Social Responsibility approach in all its activities, enabling it to contribute to the construction of a sustainable future, while ensuring the Group's performance and stability.

About ING

ING Belgium is a universal bank offering financial services to private, corporate and institutional customers. ING Belgium S.A./N.V. is a subsidiary of ING Group N.V. through ING Bank N.V. ​

ING is a global financial institution with a strong European presence offering banking services through its operating company ING Bank. ING's goal is to enable people to stay one step ahead, both privately and professionally. ING's more than 60,000 employees provide retail and commercial banking services to customers in over 40 countries. ​

ING Group shares are listed on the Amsterdam (INGA NA, INGA.AS), Brussels and New York Stock Exchanges (ADRs: ING US, ING.N). ​

Sustainability is an integral part of ING's strategy, as evidenced by ING's leading position in sector benchmarks. ING's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rating by MSCI was affirmed with 'AA' in July 2023. As of December 2023, Sustainalytics considers ING's management of material ESG risks as 'strong'. ING Group shares are also included in key sustainability and ESG index products from leading providers Euronext, STOXX, Morningstar and FTSE Russell.

About KBC Group

KBC is one of the leading financial groups in Europe. It is a multi-channel bank-insurance group with a geographic focus on Europe, catering mainly to retail clients, SMEs and local midcaps. The group occupies significant, and in many cases leading positions in its core markets of Belgium, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia. The KBC group has also selectively established a presence in a number of other countries and regions around the world. KBC Group employs around 41000 staff and caters for about 13 million clients in its core markets. KBC Group NV is listed on Euronext Brussels (ticker symbol 'KBC').

About Bancontact Payconiq Company

As a local provider, Bancontact Payconiq Company offers Payconiq or Bancontact payment solutions that are secure and tailored to each merchant. The company’s main aim is to keep developing electronic payment solutions and make them as ‘invisible’ as possible. The company is doing this against a background of strong Belgian roots – a fact that is decisive for enabling the local economy to flourish. For more information about Bancontact Payconiq Company: