Once again, the Dutch did it first and the Dutch did it best: iDEAL is set to be introduced to the European Payment Initiative (EPI) and used Europe-wide.
iDEAL was introduced in the Netherlands in 2004 by the country’s three major banks, ABN AMRO, Rabobank and ING. As NU.nl writes, they had European ambition from the beginning.
What is the EPI?
The European Payment Initiative is a payment scheme designed to meet the needs of European citizens.
Its goal is to offer an instant digital payment solution for all major retail uses, for both consumers to merchants.
Currently, the EPI is a patchwork system that heavily relies on American systems and credit cards. “Now iDEAL must become the European answer to that,” an ING spokesperson tells NU.nl.
A good deal
ING has not disclosed how much EPI paid for iDeal, but one thing is for sure: It was too much to pay with a regular Tikkie. 💸
The three banks that created the payment system are all part of EPI and remain co-shareholders.
Change is on the horizon
Besides iDeal, EPI has also acquired Luxembourg’s Payconiq system.
Martina Weimert, CEO of EPI, explains the plans for a European payment method in a press release: “Together, we will join forces to realise EPI’s vision.”
“We are developing a new, scalable platform to address the modern and evolving payment needs of European consumers and merchants in the best possible way.”
READ MORE | Transaction declined: why don’t my bank cards work in the Netherlands?
Although there may be changes to the system, consumers will likely not notice much of them.
As a spokesperson at Currence, the company that houses iDeal, tells NU.nl: “It may change the name in the long run, but it may also just remain iDEAL.”
What do you think about EPI’s acquisition of iDeal? Tells us in the comments!
Excellent system, wish we had it here in the UK