Wirecard has partnered with Germany’s EHI Retail Institute to form a new consortium focused on advancing mobile payments.
The initiative will focus on both retailers and consumers across the country.
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Other members of the EHI Mobile Payment Initiative include Visa, Mastercard, Google, Payback and GS1 Germany.
Partners in the mobile payment initiative will exchange their expertise to help the retail industry address the growing demand for these payment solutions.
A representative survey by EHI showed that approximately 20 million consumers in the country are open to use mobile payments.
However, certain consumers are not convinced by the digital service. The survey found that these Germans are either not well informed or not fully aware of what such payments entail.
Wirecard executive vice-president Consumer Solutions Georg von Waldenfels said: “The market is mature for technology and both consumers and the retail industry are now demanding solutions which make the purchase process quicker and simpler without having to make significant changes when paying.
“Together with the other founding members, we are delighted to be able to educate both consumers and retailers alike about mobile payment solutions that are available on the market today.”
In 2015, Wirecard rolled out a fully digitised mobile payment service called boon in various European countries, including Germany.
Mastercard holders can connect their boon app with a mobile payment wallet, enabling contactless payments at checkout. boon additionally enables money transfers between its users in real-time.
