I wish Wero was a real alternative but it seem to be a thin wrapper around Bank APIs and SEPA instant transactions. It has pretty much non of the functionality that PayPal or other services give. It just makes it easier to send money with a phone number instead of an IBAN. My bank doesn't even support it.
Isn't a wrapper making the ergonomics better valuable enough?
In Sweden we have Swish for domestic transfers, if I could use Swish (or if Wero took it over) the same way to transfer money to my friends living in other EU countries I'd be very, very happy.
What kind of functionality PayPal offers that is much better? Using cards instead of direct debit?
I don't think it is. If you want people to move, you need to give them something. And SEPA but with phone numbers isn't it. At least not for me. Especially if it means that I am dependent on whether my bank implemented it.
I have recently seen people surprised when they sent a Wero transaction and the other party could see their IBAN.
I think it's maybe a regional thing. Most people in Germany seem to have PayPal and a lot of them are aware of their buyer protections. I had to use them myself once.
PayPal seems to be a default for online purchases and transactions between people.
PayPal isn't without flaws but I think buyer protections and the obfuscation of the banking info are genuine features for people. I would like a real competitor to PayPal in Europe. Maybe even something that is not from a private company.
What I fear is that people will try Wero, see that it's not what they wanted and then never go back. But maybe I'm wrong.
> non of the functionality that PayPal or other services give
What functionality are you looking for exactly?
I use paypal to transfer money to other accounts & pay for online shopping, possibly in other valuta. In my opinion Wero (earlier I used IDeal) is easier then paypal for this purpose
At the moment I don't see much improvement over an instant SEPA transaction. Since both parties will see each other's IBAN anyways with Wero I can just give out my IBAN.
Wero does introduce some sort of chargebacks and disputes, buy from reputable sellers and otherwise you are still free to use paypal for additional protection (but don't send money as "Friends & Family").
> Obfuscation of my banking data (IBAN)
IBAN is public facing and it is not a problem to share. It is the identifier of your account therefore required to make transfers. Money can't be charged with your IBAN. With paypal you share your e-mail.
> Having access to it with my bank
Your bank is the one that is providing the access to the Wero service, it will pull from or deposit into your bank account.
> Not needing to share my contact list
I don't see how this is required.
The strength of Wero is that it will be a unified friction less way of making digital transfers. It finds a similar place in the market that in the USA is filled by Venmo or Cash app however if you have a bank account you can use it.
I think it speaks volumes that no one within the Netherlands uses Paypal, but iDeal is the de-facto standard for all online payments there.
> IBAN is public facing and it is not a problem to share.
I would be careful. In practice, you can setup a SEPA collection with an IBAN without the owner even knowing or signing a mandate because the banks don't check.
Of course, you can revert the transactions made this way, ... if you notice them (you have 30 days).
> Your bank is the one that is providing the access to the Wero service, it will pull from or deposit into your bank account.
I mean my bank is not available in Wero. And A lot of other banks are the same. PayPal or Klarna just works.
> IBAN is public facing and it is not a problem to share. It is the identifier of your account therefore required to make transfers. Money can't be charged with your IBAN. With paypal you share your e-mail.
I know but a lot of people don't see it that way. Not me. But I know they are.
> Not needing to share my contact list
AFAIK you need to sync your contacts to them to send a person money. I am not sure though because I don't have access.
Please don't misunderstand me. I want something like Wero in Europe. I just hope that it's not the wrong thing and people will be disappointed and less likely to try something new.
Isn't the whole point of existence of WERO that European banks got scared of digital Euro and started implementing something to get in the market first?
still waiting for my bank to implement TOTP 2FA or passkeys instead of their home grown "memorize 7 digits number and we will ask you 4 random positions"
