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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
In 2006 the consortium moved the iDEAL brand to the Dutch banking organization Currence.[2] Nine years after claiming to be responsible for 54% of the country's online payments, iDEAL reported having 70% of this market in 2023.[3]
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.[3][4][5][6]
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.[7]
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.[8]
