Wero is entering the European payments landscape with a clear ambition: to become the unified European payment solution — and in markets like the Netherlands, a successor to trusted local methods like iDEAL. That makes it one of the most important developments in payments today. At the same time, Pay by Bank is gaining traction across Europe by building on existing bank infrastructure and real-time payment rails.
Both are often positioned in the same conversation. Both aim to shape the future of European payments. But they are built on fundamentally different principles. This article looks at one of the most important differences between the two: chargebacks.Because what happens after a payment is completed is just as important as how the payment is made.
Chargebacks: a small percentage, a big impact
In card payments, chargebacks typically range between 0.2% and 0.9% of transactions, and in sectors like travel or e-commerce that percentage can be even higher. At first glance, that may seem marginal. It isn’t. A chargeback is not just a refund — it is reversed revenue, operational overhead, and financial risk, all carried by the merchant.
Now, that same mechanism is being introduced into a new space: account-to-account payments through Wero. And that is where the difference between Wero and Pay by Bank becomes fundamental.
Payment certainty: the foundation of account-to-account payments
European payment methods like iDEAL — and more broadly Pay by Bank — are built on a simple principle. Once a payment has been authenticated by the customer and executed by the bank, it is final. There are no chargebacks and no scheme-based reversals. For merchants, this creates something essential: payment certainty. You receive the funds, you deliver the product, and the transaction is complete.
Wero introduces reversibility
Wero takes a different approach. As part of its ambition to become a unified European payment solution, it introduces a chargeback mechanism similar to card-based models. This is not a limitation but a deliberate design choice. The goal is clear: increase consumer protection, provide a safety net for disputes, and create a familiar, card-like experience. From the consumer’s perspective, that makes perfect sense. It lowers the perceived risk of purchasing and increases confidence at checkout.
But that benefit comes with a trade-off, and that trade-off sits with the merchant.
From guaranteed revenue to conditional outcomes
Chargebacks fundamentally shift the balance of risk. They allow consumers to reverse a transaction after it has been completed. For merchants, this means that revenue is no longer final. Payments can be disputed, reversed, and require operational processes to manage those disputes. In other words, a payment is no longer a guarantee — it becomes a conditional outcome. That is a very different model from the one used by iDEAL and Pay by Bank.
A model designed for a different use case
It is important to note that chargebacks are not inherently bad. They serve a clear purpose in specific contexts, particularly in high-value purchases, cross-border transactions, or situations where buyer protection is critical. In that sense, they belong to a credit card model, where flexibility and protection for the buyer are prioritized. But that also means that the merchant carries more risk.
The e-commerce reality: certainty enables fulfilment
For many businesses, especially in e-commerce, that is not the preferred model. If you run an online store and ship physical goods, your process is straightforward: you receive payment, you confirm the funds, and then you ship the goods. This works because payment equals certainty. You know the money is yours, and you can act on it.
Introduce chargebacks, and that certainty disappears. You may ship today, only to see the payment reversed tomorrow. In that scenario, you risk losing both the goods and the money. That is not a theoretical edge case — it is a structural risk that merchants need to manage.
Pay by Bank: built for finality
Pay by Bank stays true to the fundamentals of account-to-account payments. It leverages real-time bank infrastructure, strong customer authentication, and direct transfers between accounts. The result is instant payment confirmation without intermediaries and without chargebacks. For merchants, this means certainty. If the payment is successful, you can deliver immediately, provide your service, and continue your operations without post-transaction risk.
Two models, two trade-offs
This ultimately comes down to two different models. Wero moves toward a card-like model, where reversibility and consumer protection are central. Pay by Bank remains within an account-to-account model, where finality, speed, and certainty are the foundation. Neither model is inherently better or worse, but they represent different trade-offs.
The real distinction: what happens after the payment
The difference is not in how the payment starts, but in what happens after it is completed. Can the payment still be reversed, or is it final the moment it is made? That determines how merchants manage risk, when they can deliver, and how predictable their revenue is.
Looking ahead
As Wero continues to roll out across Europe, its chargeback model will likely resonate with consumers. At the same time, it introduces a dynamic that is new to account-to-account payments. Pay by Bank shows that another model already exists — one where payments are instant, secure, and final.
At IBANXS, that is the foundation we build on. Because in payments, certainty is not a feature. It is what enables everything that comes after.
Curious how Pay by Bank can give your business payment certainty — without the risk of chargebacks?
At IBANXS, we provide a single connection to European bank rails, enabling real-time, final and secure account-to-account payments across markets. Get in touch to explore how this works in practice.