Lidl Introduces the European Payment Method Wero in Germany(unternehmen.lidl.de)
48 pointsby doener4 hours ago6 comments
  • Aachen2 hours ago
    But your bank needs to be in Germany, Belgium, France, or "all of Europe". When you select the latter, my Dutch bank isn't shown

    I also have a shared account in Germany, but paying with that doesn't work either. It shows an info page about what Wero is supposed to be, not a payment page. The page says I need to make a Google account and buy a compatible phone to download their software and try again

    This is advertised as a replacement for iDeal, a Dutch system created by a collaboration of banks in 2005. It worked very simple on any device: (1) click pay, (2) select your bank, (3) you're redirected to your bank's website and use your normal online banking method to authenticate the transaction (chip+pin with an authenticator, the mobile app, whatever your bank offers), (4) the website redirects you back to the merchant

    Wero seems to be like a payment request, except it hides the target IBAN and requires an app and only allows certain banks from a few countries (not EU-wide). What a leap forward from iDeal that just always worked in any browser and bank when the payment provider supports it

  • fjfaase3 hours ago
    Wero is a European wide payment system. In the Netherlands it replaces iDeal, which has been the (almost) universal payment method for webshops in the Netherlands. In not all European countries such payment systems are used as widespread as in the Netherlands. Wero is actually a payment broker as it usually connects with the payment system (often a banking app) of your choice.
    • Aachen2 hours ago
      > Wero is actually a payment broker as it usually connects with the payment system (often a banking app) of your choice.

      Except you don't have a choice. It's not like iDeal where you can just use your bank's regular login method to pay; this requires making a big tech account to download some app where maybe it then works if it likes your device. IDeal always worked in a browser. Why change a running system with a less-compatible one?

      • haagchan hour ago
        I feel the same but I'm starting to think that EPI is right to not care.

        Nobody from any tech media seems to be pointing out the Google/Apple smartphone dependency, let alone ask anyone at EPI about it. If they do, at least they're not writing about the results.

        The only article I know of that ever asked the question is actually from the press of the German government: https://www.das-parlament.de/wirtschaft/finanzen/wir-bauen-m...

        "What about smartphones that run on free and open-source software instead of the commercial operating systems used by the iPhone or Google?

        Tanja Müller-Ziegler: This market is still very much a niche one. There are still too few providers, which is why it’s hardly worth offering banking apps for these devices."

        Other than that I have seen ZERO pressure on this point from the media.

        Obviously I do think EPI should intrinsically care, but I also am starting to see more and more that from their point of view literally nobody cares, so why should they?

    • mercer2 hours ago
      Since the switch to Wero, I've noticed that I need to do an extra, seemingly pointless click. it's not iDeal!
    • toomuchtodo3 hours ago
      https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48648574 (comment with Wero details)
  • a_paddy2 hours ago
    Intentional or not, this move reduces the influence of US owned payment networks MasterCard & Visa.
    • drnick12 hours ago
      But this system is probably tied to Google and Apple's "device attestation." Don't worry, it's in the name of security!
    • 2 hours ago
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  • kubb2 hours ago
    Can't wait for digital Euro, that will be a game changer. Offline transactions via NFC will leave no traceable record. The anonymity of cash with the convenience of contactless payments.

    If Wero is executed well, I'll use it for sure in the meantime.

  • hobofan2 hours ago
    This appears to be only for their online shop, not for their retail locations.
  • cynicalsecurity3 hours ago
    Next steps: we need to make GrapheneOS our sovereign European mobile operating system and start making our own phones too.
    • varispeed2 hours ago
      Open bootloader should be required by law.
    • techpression2 hours ago
      Pretty insane that we had both Ericsson and Nokia making really good phones and then getting left in the dust. As for GrapheneOS it doesn't sit well with the desire for total digital oversight from EU, digital ID's, tracking and invasive things like on-device scanning, unfortunately.