Like Payconiq or its predecessor Digicash, Wero allows users to make transfers or pay bills via QR codes using their mobile phones. The key difference, however, is that Wero is a Europe-wide initiative already in use in Belgium, France, and Germany. After a three-month transition phase, Payconiq will be completely phased out by the end of September, although some stores already no longer accept its use.
Nonetheless, Ananda Kautz from the Luxembourg Bankers’ Association (ABBL) emphasises that only a very small number of stores – around one to two percent – are affected in the Grand Duchy. This is not due to the transition to the European payment system Wero, but rather because these stores have contracted with a different provider. Payconiq is expected to function normally until September.
Preparations for the transition to the new solution, implemented through a strategic partnership between Buckaroo, Payconiq International, and the European Payments Initiative (EPI), have already begun. Payconiq plans to transfer its contracts with stores to Buckaroo at the end of this month, which will not affect the existing agreements with Payconiq. Starting in July, shopkeepers will have the option to adopt the new Wero system.
Kautz assures that the switch will have little impact on users. Banks currently offering Payconiq services – Spuerkeess, BIL, BGL, Post, and Raiffeisen – will introduce the European initiative Wero this summer and inform their clients in advance. The functionalities will remain largely the same, but the major advantage is that Wero can also be used abroad, notably in France, Belgium, Germany, and soon in the Netherlands.
However, Wero – which combines the words ‘we’ and ‘euro’ – is not the only European initiative. In Southern Europe, the European Payments Alliance is primarily used. The ultimate goal is for both systems to work together, creating a single pan-European solution.
Currently, the Wero app can already be used in countries participating in the European Payments Alliance, meaning it does not directly compete with it. Both systems aim to provide a European alternative to US-based digital payment services such as PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay.
A survey conducted in eurozone member countries at the end of October shows that one in three residents of Luxembourg already uses a mobile app to make transfers.
