ING: Wero payments are now also possible in online shops
ING customers can now use Wero for online shopping in Germany. The rollout extends the wallet beyond person-to-person transfers.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
ING has enabled Wero for online shops, adding e-commerce payments to the service’s earlier peer-to-peer transfers. The move broadens Wero’s reach inside Germany’s banking app ecosystem and comes as more banks and merchants prepare to join.
ING is turning on a new way to pay in online shops, like using a digital key on a phone instead of a card. It is part of a bigger plan to make one European payment system work in more stores and more countries.
Analysis
ING expands Wero beyond transfers
ING customers can now pay in online shops with Wero using their smartphones. Until now, ING’s app had only supported Wero’s person-to-person function, where users can send and receive money via linked phone number or email address.
The rollout puts ING alongside Sparkassen, Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken, Postbank, Deutsche Bank, and others that already support online shopping with Wero. According to the European Payments Initiative (EPI), 600 merchants in Germany and Belgium currently accept it, including Eventim and Globus Baumarkt.
More banks, more merchants, more features
The article says several large retailers, including Lidl, MediaMarkt, Rossmann, Cewe, Decathlon, and Hornbach, are preparing to start. Wero is also expected to expand into France and the Netherlands by the end of 2026, and later into physical stores via QR codes.
EPI is also working on broader interoperability with other national payment systems. At Money 20/20 in Amsterdam, the group said it wants to build a hub linking Wero with services such as MB Way, Bizum, Bancomat Pay, and Vipps MobilePay. The goal is for customers to be able to pay across participating merchants, while banks aim for more competition, lower merchant costs, and less dependence on non-European payment providers.
Key points
- ING customers can now use Wero for online shopping, not just peer-to-peer transfers.
- Wero is already accepted by about 600 merchants in Germany and Belgium, according to EPI.
- Several large retailers and more banks are preparing to join the service.
- EPI is also working on a hub to connect Wero with other European mobile payment systems.
If more banks and shops join, Wero could become a simple everyday payment option for online checkout in Germany. The article also says the system could give merchants lower costs and make European banks less dependent on foreign payment services.
The rollout still depends on whether enough merchants and banks actually activate Wero, so usage could remain limited for a while. The broader cross-border hub also has to connect many separate national systems, which makes adoption and technical integration harder.
