Lidl Introduces the European Payment Method Wero in Germany

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.

Next steps: we need to make GrapheneOS our sovereign European mobile operating system and start making our own phones too.

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

Open bootloader should be required by law.

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.