Introduction
In December 2025 Deutsche Bank switched on Wero, the European Payments Initiative's account-to-account wallet, for Deutsche Bank and Postbank current account holders in Germany. Wero lets customers send money to a phone number or email address in seconds, settled over SEPA Instant, without an IBAN. It is Europe's answer to PayPal and card-based peer-to-peer apps, and Deutsche Bank has positioned it as a "sovereign" European payment option. The prompt asks us to design a Wero experience inside the Deutsche Bank app for young customers who split bills with friends. I'll clarify scope, explain why this matters to the bank, segment users, find the sharpest pain points, propose a solution and define how we would measure it.
Interviewers at Deutsche Bank's technology centres often probe whether you understand that the bank does not own Wero. EPI owns the scheme and the core wallet; the bank owns the in-app experience, onboarding, limits and the link to the current account. Say this early so your design stays realistic.
Step 1
Clarify Questions (3 minutes)
- Why it matters: Deutsche Bank and Postbank run separate retail apps with different demographics.
- Hypothetical answer: The Deutsche Bank app in Germany, customers aged 18–30, including students on the free Junges Konto.
- Impact: We can assume smartphone fluency but low payment loyalty; most already use PayPal.
- Why it matters: Embedded flows let us reuse BestSign authentication and balance data.
- Hypothetical answer: Embedded, with Wero as a tab in the Deutsche Bank app.
- Impact: The design can use the account balance and transaction history directly.
- Why it matters: P2P payments rarely make money directly.
- Hypothetical answer: Primary-account engagement among young customers and fewer payments leaking to PayPal.
- Impact: Metrics will focus on weekly active usage and main-account status, not fee revenue.
- Hypothetical answer: Wero rules define limits, recipient lookup and dispute handling; e-commerce and request-to-pay features are rolling out in phases.
- Impact: Our design cannot change settlement rules but can shape everything around them.
Propose the Goal
Make Wero the default way young Deutsche Bank customers settle shared costs with friends, so that the current account becomes the hub of their everyday money life.
Define the Scope
- In scope: Bill splitting, group expenses, payment requests, reminders and the in-app Wero journey.
- Out of scope: Merchant checkout, cross-border Wero (beyond Germany, France and Belgium) and changes to scheme pricing.
- Platform: iOS and Android Deutsche Bank app; web banking shows history only.
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