Payment apps in Europe: Wero, Bizum, Twint and PayPal compared

Which payment app works in which country?

Wero and Bizum run on your bank account: Bizum works inside your banking app, and Wero works there or, depending on your bank, in the separate Wero app linked to your account. Twint is offered through Swiss banks' apps or as a prepaid app. PayPal is a separate account you pay from. So the first question is always whether the other person uses the same service in the same country.

If the other person is in a country where your app is not available, a euro instant transfer from your banking app is often the simplest route within the euro area.

What does sending money cost, and are there limits?

Under Regulation (EU) 2024/886, banks in euro-area countries have had to let customers send instant euro transfers since 9 October 2025. Since the same date, your bank must offer a free check of whether the payee's name matches the account number. Our guide on reading payee verification warnings explains the possible results. The regulation does not apply in Switzerland.

How are you protected when buying online or on a marketplace?

This is where the services differ most. PayPal offers Buyer Protection for purchases: it can apply when an item does not arrive or is significantly not as described. In PayPal's terms for France, Italy and Spain, a claim for an item not received must be opened within 180 days of the payment; for an item significantly not as described, within 30 days of delivery or 180 days of the payment, whichever comes first. Personal payments sent with the ‘Friends and Family’ option are explicitly excluded.

With Wero, an online payment cannot be cancelled once you have confirmed it. You ask the merchant for a refund; if the merchant refuses, you can report the problem from the payment details in the Wero app. Wero's refund help does not describe a buyer protection scheme like PayPal's. For Twint and Bizum, check with the shop and your bank what options you have before a larger purchase.

Tip: Wero's own advice for second-hand deals: buy on reputable marketplaces and stick to their messaging and payment tools. A seller who pushes you to pay by bank transfer outside the platform is a warning sign.

Which scams target payment apps?

Because money arrives instantly, fraudsters rely on time pressure and confusion. In April 2026, the Banco de España and the European Consumer Centre in Spain warned about two Bizum scams. The trick works with any app that lets people request money, and Wero and Twint both have a request function.

• Request instead of payment: a fake buyer on a classified-ads site sends you a money request rather than a payment. If you accept it, you think you are receiving money but you are actually sending it.
• Fake refund: someone claims to have sent you money by mistake and asks for it back. Many victims pay without checking whether anything arrived at all, and even real incoming money can come from a hijacked account.
• Fake support: emails, phone calls and even letters with a QR code pose as Twint or a bank and ask for login details or SMS codes. Twint says neither it nor its partner companies will ever ask you to share sensitive data such as your password.

The key rule comes from the Banco de España: receiving money requires no confirmation. Wero also points out that banks, government agencies and reputable companies will never request money through Wero. Our guide to reading approval requests in your banking app shows what to look for, and selling second-hand has its own pitfalls, covered in second-hand sales: no card codes for a supposed payment.

Fictional example: a shared dinner in Brussels and a bike for sale

Fictional example: Liam, an Irish engineer living in Brussels, has dinner with three colleagues. He pays the whole bill by card. Two Belgian colleagues send their share with Wero from their banking apps. The third colleague still banks in Madrid and has Bizum, which Liam cannot receive. She uses an instant transfer instead, checks the result of the payee name check, and the money is in his account shortly afterwards.

A week later, Liam advertises his bike online. A buyer writes that she has already paid and Liam only needs to accept the payment in the app. What the app actually shows is a request to send €150. Liam declines, checks his balance in his banking app and ends the conversation.

What Liam gets right: he reads which direction the money is going before approving anything, and he trusts neither a chat message nor a screenshot, only his own account.

What should you do if money ends up in the wrong place?

1. Sent to someone you know by mistake: ask them to pay it back. Twint suggests trying its money request function first.
2. Paid a fraudster: contact your bank straight away, as Twint advises. Wero warns that money sent to a fraudster may not be recoverable. Report the fraud to the police and keep screenshots, phone numbers and times; in Spain, the Banco de España names the Policía Nacional and the Guardia Civil.
3. Unexpected money arrived: do not send anything back until your bank has checked the payment.
4. Lost phone: if you use Wero in your banking app, contact your bank. If you use the separate Wero app, you can use the chat on Wero's help site to have Wero removed from your device.
5. Phishing in Switzerland: forward suspicious emails to abuse@twint.ch and reports@antiphishing.ch. Twint also advises reporting phishing websites to the Swiss federal cybersecurity office.

For detailed next steps, see money sent to a scammer: first steps with your bank and the police. Whether you are entitled to a refund depends on your individual case; a consumer advice centre or legal adviser can assess it.

Questions to ask before you pay

• Do you know the person, and could you call them if something goes wrong?
• Would you need protection if the item never arrives? Then avoid ‘Friends and Family’ and pay with a protected method or through the platform.
• Does the recipient use the same service in the same country, or is an instant transfer simpler?
• Is the amount within your bank's and the app's limits?
• Will a currency conversion add fees, for example when paying someone in Switzerland?