iDeal acquired by European payment service

Dutch payment service iDeal has been acquired by the European Payments Initiative (EPI), a collaboration of European banks. Payconiq, technology provider of iDeal and Belgian payment platform Bancontact, has also been taken over. iDeal is to form the basis of a Europe-wide payment system, according to EPI.

iDeal was founded in 2005 by Dutch banks and has since grown to become the largest online payment method in the Netherlands. In fact, over 90 percent of Dutch online shoppers select iDeal during checkout.

iDeal and Payconiq merge into EPI

iDeal B.V. will be acquired from Currence, an umbrella of Dutch banks that founded the payment service. The European Payments Initiative (EPI) is also acquiring Payconiq. This is currently the technology provider of iDeal and Bancontact, the most popular payment method in Belgium. The price for the deal is unknown.

Pan-European payment method

EPI is a collaboration of major European banks, including Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas. Previously, the initiative developed a digital wallet that allows users to transfer money between different bank accounts. With the acquisitions of iDeal and Payconiq, EPI wants to develop a pan-European payment method.

EPI plans to launch a P2P payment service first.

EPI plans to be the first to launch a peer-to-peer payment service, the company said. It will be launched in France and Germany by the end of this year. Later, Belgium and the rest of Europe should follow. Future plans include online and mobile payments, post-payment and Point-of-Sale systems.

‘Strongest foundation for European service’

In the short term, nothing will change for Dutch users of iDeal, says CEO Daniel van Delft: “[We] will continue to focus on the already planned roll-out of the revamped iDeal and its value-added services to improve the use of iDeal for consumers and merchants. For the long term, we look forward to working with our partners to achieve the strongest possible foundation for this truly European payment system.”