Wirecard, SAP and Futur/io launch 'Innovation Now' to assist merchants amid COVID-19

Wirecard, SAP and Futur/io launch ‘Innovation Now’ to assist merchants amid COVID-19

Written by Ruby Hinchliffe
2nd April 2020

Wirecard, the German payments fintech, has launched an initiative called ‘Innovation for Now’ with European multinational software corporation SAP to offer businesses affected by the ongoing coronavirus their services.

The companies say the platform is for “businesses of all sizes and industries”

Merchants will be able to find “assistance packages” through the platform, which was built with European innovation platform Futur/io.

One offering is an online payments solution called ‘Pay-by-Link’, which allows merchants to receive real-time payments through a smartphone even if they do not have an online shopping presence.

The companies say the platform is for “businesses of all sizes and industries”. The assistance packages are generally “low cost” and “discounted”, though some are free such as the ‘Pay-by-Link’ service, much like other services made completely free by companies during the pandemic.

“The aim of the initiative is to bundle the offerings of all major tech companies in Germany and make them more easily accessible to merchants affected by COVID-19,” the companies says in a statement.

The Pay-by-Link service will allow brick and mortar-based businesses to set up an ‘order ahead’ service.

The payment link can then be emailed or texted via channels such as WhatsApp before the item or service is delivered to secure the payment cash-free.

Wirecard, SAP and Futur/io are calling on “leading companies” to “actively participate” in the platform initiative.

“Now, more than ever, it is important that we act together, and combine and share our knowledge,” says Wirecard’s EVP of innovation labs and value-added services Jörn Leogrande.

Other services include a ‘Checkout Portal’ extension, designed for merchants that want to rapidly get set up with an online presence which has European reach.

This service offers a greater variety of payment methods and is free for the first six months.

Small retailers in Germany and Austria also have access to the SUPR shop solution, which is again free for the first six months of use, and Wirecard is offering merchants its Smart point of sale (POS) terminal too on the same terms.