Europäische Bezahlalternativen: Bundesbank: Wero und digitalen Euro verzahnen
Europa will beim Bezahlen unabhängiger von den USA werden. Ein Angebot gibt es bereits, an einem zweiten feilen die Notenbanken. Die beiden sollten sich keine Konkurrenz machen, mahnt die Bundesbank.
The President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Lutz Lienenkämper, proposed that the European Paypal alternative Wero and the digital Euro should be integrated with each other to enhance European independence in digital payments. This integration could increase the reach of European payment solutions and help new solutions work seamlessly together.
Wero, driven by the European Payments Initiative (EPI), a coalition of banks and payment service providers, offers primarily direct mobile money payments from person to person since early July 2024. It is now being used for online shopping at various merchants, similar to credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other comparable services.
Currently, there are 57 million registered Wero users in Belgium, France, and Germany, with plans to introduce it in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Austria. Lienenkämper emphasized that the market launch is still a task that must be pursued with determination and that there is still potential for Wero to be further utilized. The European Central Bank (ECB) has been working on a digital Euro as an alternative to cash for years.
Critics question the costs associated with this venture. The ECB aims to compete with private providers such as Paypal, Mastercard, and Visa, which currently dominate the digital payment market in Europe. The digital Euro is expected to be introduced by 2029 and is seen as a central bank's money for the digital space, accessible to all, secure, European, and with high data protection.
It is meant to be an addition to private payment solutions and even currency, not a replacement for them.
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