Rewe has been enabling its customers to pay with the retailer’s app since this week. With the new Rewe Pay function, the supermarket operator of Rewe Group in Germany deduces the purchase amount from the shopper’s current account by direct debit. The solution was developed by Paymenttools, the Rewe Group’s in-house payment service provider. The retail group is not only responding to the desire of many customers for simple and fast payment processes in its stores but is also likely to be pursuing the goal of reducing the rising costs of external payment service providers.
The new payment method is integrated into the existing smartphone-based Rewe app, which can be used in all 3,800 Rewe stores nationwide – both in the outlets operated by Rewe Markt GmbH and in the stores of independent retailers. Customers scan a QR code on their smartphone at the attended checkout or at the self-checkout terminal. The amount due is then automatically debited from the stored current account via SEPA direct debit. At the same time, the purchase is assigned to the Rewe Bonus loyalty programme, which replaced the previous Payback system at the beginning of the year.
For Rewe, a key driver for the introduction of the new payment system is likely to be the cost structure of conventional payment service providers. According to assumptions of Lebensmittel Zeitung, many customers make mobile payments via Apple Pay or Google Pay – usually linked to credit cards from providers such as Visa or Mastercard. The SEPA Direct Debit Scheme allows retailers to debit the payment amount directly from the customer’s current account, provided they have a valid mandate. The associated costs for the retail company are generally significantly lower than for credit card-based payments.
QR code replaces card and wallet
With Rewe Pay, the company can reduce these fees by processing the transaction itself. Similar to Lidl Pay or Payback Pay, the system is based on the tried-and-tested SEPA direct debit procedure. In this way, Rewe not only reduces its dependence on credit card networks but also strengthens its control over its own payment infrastructure.
Customers register once for Rewe Pay with their Girocard at a Rewe store. The Girocard is linked to the respective bank account in the app. Shoppers then agree to the direct debit as a standing mandate with their signature. Once customers have registered, all they need to do is scan the QR code in the app at the checkout or self-checkout. Rewe Pay only works with Girocard, the most common debit cards in Germany. Cards from Visa and Mastercard are not supported, even if they were issued as debit cards.
Rewe bundles payment expertise in its own subsidiary
Rewe manages its payment processes via its wholly-owned subsidiary Paymenttools, which is responsible for the technical implementation of Rewe Pay. The Cologne-based subsidiary was founded on 1 July 2021 and has since been building a scalable B2B payment platform for brick-and-mortar and digital retail.
