Comment by BadBadJellyBean
4 hours ago
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?
That’s what EMPSA[1] is trying to push. But Swish aren’t particularly interested in playing an active part.[2]
[1] https://empsa.org/
[2] https://nyheter24.se/nyheter/ekonomi/privatekonomi/1452366-d...
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.
Vipps which is available in Sweden supports this system.
I know the Swedish government is also pressuring swish to integrate with vipps. So I guess you'll have this ability soon.
Isn't that much better than PayPal? Why would i want my money to end up in some intermediate PayPal account?
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
> What functionality are you looking for exactly?
* Buyer protection
* Obfuscation of my banking data (IBAN)
* Having access to it with my bank
* Not needing to share my contact list
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.
> Buyer protection
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.
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?
> My bank doesn't even support it.
It's not like it's that difficult to implement. Most Brazilian banks implemented a similar protocol in months.
Tell that to my bank. I am a software developer. I could probably do it. But I don't work there.