IDEAL

iDEAL is an e-commerce payment system used for online banking in the Netherlands. Previously controlled by the Dutch e-commerce organization Currence since 2006, the company became owned by the European Payments Initiative (EPI) from October 2023.

It is an online payment method that enables consumers to pay online through their own bank. In addition to online merchants, other organisations that are not part of the e-commerce market also offer iDEAL.

History
The system was conceived by the Dutch banks ABN Amro, ING Bank, Postbank N.V. and Rabobank, to develop a single system for online payments that could be used by all banks. The payment platform was opened to consumers in 2005.

In 2006 the consortium moved the iDEAL brand to the Dutch banking organization Currence. Nine years after claiming to be responsible for 54% of the country's online payments, iDEAL reported having 70% of this market in 2023.

In the same year, the European Payments Initiative acquired iDEAL and Payconiq International, as well as new shareholders, for the upcoming launch of its instant payment solution. iDEAL is to become a European payment account-to-account (A2A) instant payment scheme and a multi-faceted digital wallet.

EPI will initially enable person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-professional (P2Pro) payments, followed by online and mobile shopping payments and then point-of-sale payments. A comprehensive range of transaction types will be supported, including one-off payments, subscriptions, installments, payments upon delivery and reservations. Additionally, value-added services will be incorporated into the solution over time, including responsible ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (BNPL) financing, digital identity features and integration of merchant loyalty programmes.

European Payments Initiative (EPI) has announced that the commercial name iDEAL will be changed to wero. wero is scheduled to launch in France, Germany and Belgium in mid-2024, followed by the Netherlands. The rest of Europe will follow in subsequent years.

Transaction statistics
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