Finance
EU Banks Launch Wero Payments to Dislodge Visa, Mastercard
- Payment industry is facing a boom in digital challengers
- Firms including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank are teaming up
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The European Union’s biggest banks have spent years quietly creating a new way to pay that could finally allow customers to ditch their Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. cards — the latest sign that the region is looking to dislodge two of the most valuable financial firms on the planet.
Wero, as the project is known, is now rolling out across much of western Europe. Backed by 16 major banks and payment processors including BNP Paribas SA, Deutsche Bank AG and Worldline SA, the platform will eventually allow a German customer to instantly settle up with, say, a hotel in France using their own bank account instead of a Visa or Mastercard.