Deutsche Bank and Postbank have rolled out Wero, a pan-European digital payment app that acts as a sovereign digital wallet for instant account-to-account payments, including peer-to-peer, online, and in-store.

The platform’s users only need a phone number or email address for payments, instead of entering IBAN and BIC details.

The solution, managed by the European Payments Initiative (EPI), an association of 16 major European banks and payment service providers, aims to end payment fragmentation and dependence on non-European systems such as Visa and Mastercard.

The launch allows Deutsche Bank and Postbank customers to send money in real time to family and friends, as well as make online purchases across Europe using the app, with the two banks offering their customers the full range of features of the digital platform.

The Wero app is linked directly to Deutsche Bank or Postbank customer accounts, with amounts debited or credited directly to their accounts with no need to top up the app separately.

Wero is set to be integrated into the Deutsche Bank Mobile and Postbank banking apps at a later date, allowing users to choose between the Wero app and their familiar mobile banking app.

Wero has stated that future features will also include the management of recurring payments, such as subscriptions, as well as payments at physical points of sale.

Additional value-added services are also in the pipeline, such as instalment payments, the integration of merchant loyalty programmes, and functions for managing shared expenses.

Dominik Hennen, head of personal banking at Deutsche Bank, stressed that the launch represents a “decisive step” towards a unified European payments landscape.

“We offer our clients an innovative solution that simplifies private and e-commerce payments even across national borders,” he said

Martina Weimert, managing director of the EPI, said: “This marks an important step toward a truly European payment solution.”

Banks participating in the EPI include Belgian banks Argenta, Bank Van Breda, Beobank, Crelan, and vdk bank, which joined in July.

In June, FinTech Revolut signed an agreement to join the EPI to promote the creation of a European sovereign payments system.

As part of this membership, Revolut customers, initially in France, Belgium and Germany, will have access to Wero's core functions directly within their Revolut app, including instant and free money transfers using Wero's platform.

In June, Berlin based payment platform Unzer also joined the EPI to help small and medium sized German businesses access Wero.

The partnership integrated Wero directly into Unzer’s platform, UnzerOne, allowing businesses to accept the platform across all sales channels.

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