Wero – The New European Payment System That Will Compete With Apple Pay And Google Pay

A new European payment system called Wero is available for those who prefer to pay via their mobile phone in Germany, DPA reported.

KEY FACTS

Most savings and cooperative banks in Germany already work with Wero, the agency said.
The payment system is a competitor of the American company for online payments and financial services PayPal, as well as Visa and Mastercard.
Among the goals of the project is to stop the distribution of Apple Pay and Google Pay services in Europe.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Unlike money transfers made through banks, with Wero, you do not need an international bank account number (IBAN) of the recipient of the money. Instead, you can use his mobile phone number or his email address, BTA reported. Money is sent and arrives within 10 seconds, according to Wero’s creators.

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It should be possible from 2025 to be able to make online money transfers through the app, and from 2026 to be able to make payments in larger stores.

Wero is supported by a joint venture involving 14 banks and two payment companies. Among the banks participating in the project is the Belgian KBC.

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Only 1% Of Cyprus Farms Use Precision Farming Technologies

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

July 24, 2026

Cyprus remains one of the European Union’s least digitised agricultural economies, with just 1% of farms using precision farming technologies in 2023, according to Eurostat.

The findings come as the EU continues to encourage the adoption of digital tools aimed at improving agricultural productivity, efficiency and sustainability.

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Internet Access Expands, But Digital Uptake Lags

Internet access has improved across the bloc, although adoption remains uneven. Eurostat found that 43% of EU farms had internet access in 2023, with northern and central European countries leading the way.

Denmark, Germany, Slovakia, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Austria all reported internet access rates above 90%.

Greater connectivity, however, has not translated into widespread digital adoption. Farm management information systems, which help farmers manage day-to-day operations, were used by only about 11% of EU farms. France was a notable exception, with around 60% of farms using the technology.

Precision Farming Concentrated In Larger Operations

Robotics adoption also remained relatively limited, with only about 7% of EU farms using robotic technologies. Overall, around 18% of farms with utilised agricultural area employed at least one precision farming technology or practice in 2023.

These included robotics for plant protection, band spraying, variable-rate application, precision crop monitoring and soil analysis. Despite representing fewer than one in five farms, these holdings accounted for around 44% of the EU’s utilised agricultural area.

The figures suggest that precision farming remains concentrated among larger agricultural businesses, where investment in digital technologies is typically easier to support.

Cyprus Lags Behind EU Leaders

Luxembourg, Finland and Estonia recorded the highest shares of utilised agricultural area managed by farms using precision farming technologies, each exceeding 75%.

At the other end of the ranking, Cyprus recorded just 1%, while Greece and Romania reported between 10% and 15%. The results indicate that Cyprus remains at an early stage of digital adoption in agriculture, even as precision farming becomes more widespread across parts of the European Union.

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