A group of Belgian banks have signed onto Europe\u2019s digital wallet project Wero.<\/p>\n
Argenta<\/a>,\u00a0Bank Van Breda<\/a>,\u00a0Beobank<\/a>,\u00a0Crelan<\/a>, and\u00a0vdk bank<\/a>\u00a0are all planning to begin offering the digital wallet and instant account-to-account (A2A) payment solution starting next year, the\u00a0European Payments Initiative<\/a>\u00a0(EPI)\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0Sunday (July 6).<\/p>\n \u201cWero is about Europe, and it starts with the \u2018we\u2019 \u2014 the people \u2014 in their daily lives and local communities,\u201d\u00a0Martina Weimert<\/a>, CEO of the EPI Company, said in a news release.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m particularly proud to see the number of members trusting us is growing. These new members\u2019 local presence and close relationship with their customers will be essential to making Wero a trusted part of everyday payments across the continent.\u201d<\/p>\n The EPI\u00a0launched Wero last year<\/a>\u00a0with the banking of several European Union banks and payment processors. The project is designed to offer consumers an alternative to Visa and Mastercard cards.<\/p>\n \u201cVisa and Mastercard being so big, they have in their hands a lot of market control power,\u201d Weimert told Bloomberg News at the time.<\/p>\n Since then, a number of high-profile FinTechs have joined the program, including Revolut and Nuvei, which said in May it would begin\u00a0integrating Wero<\/a>\u00a0into its online checkout platform for eCommerce merchants.<\/p>\n The expansion of Wero comes at a time when digital wallets are showing promise for businesses\u00a0dealing with tariff-related headaches<\/a>, as PYMNTS wrote last month.<\/p>\n \u201cDigital wallets can reduce payment processing times from days to minutes,\u201d that report said. \u201cFor SMBs seeking to build trust with international customers or suppliers, the ability to pay \u2014 or be paid \u2014 nearly instantly confers a tangible advantage. Fast money fosters goodwill.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, additional research by PYMNTS Intelligence and\u00a0Ingo Payments<\/a>\u00a0shows the growing\u00a0prominence of digital wallets<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile bank accounts hold the top spot for preference, digital wallets\u00a0are emerging<\/a>\u00a0as a destination for instant disbursements,\u201d PYMNTS wrote last week. \u201cThe use of digital wallets for instant payments has increased, with 15% of receivers using them most often in January, up from 7.8% a year prior.\u201d<\/p>\n