# iDEAL

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/ideal
> research date 2026-05-29 · extracted at 2026-10-03
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [iDEAL — official](https://www.ideal.nl/)

## Overview

**iDEAL** is **Netherlands' dominant A2A payment method** — **73% of all Dutch online purchases** + **1.3 billion+ transactions annually** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [Netherlands report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/NL)</sup>. Used by **nearly all Dutch consumers** + **accepted by 210,000+ businesses** for e-commerce + invoices + payment requests.

**October 2023 — EPI acquired iDEAL** <sup>[3][3]</sup>: iDEAL transitioned from Currence (Dutch e-commerce organization) ownership to **European Payments Initiative (EPI)** — strategic European A2A consolidation. iDEAL planned to become **European A2A instant payment scheme + multi-faceted digital wallet**.

**2025-2027 Wero transition** <sup>[4][4]</sup>: iDEAL **will gradually disappear from 2026** + be replaced by EPI's **Wero**. **January 2026** — Dutch consumers start seeing **combined iDEAL/Wero logo** at online checkouts. **Late 2026** — first Dutch webshops switch to Wero. **2027** — iDEAL expected to disappear completely.

## History

**2005 — iDEAL launches** <sup>[2][2]</sup> by Currence (Dutch bank-consortium e-commerce organization).

**2006-2023 — Currence-controlled NL dominance** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Multi-bank Dutch consortium scheme.

**October 2023 — EPI acquires iDEAL + Payconiq International** <sup>[3][3]</sup>: European A2A consolidation.

**July 2024 — Wero launches by EPI** <sup>[4][4]</sup>: Initially replaced Giropay (DE) + Paylib (FR) + Payconiq (BE/LU).

**January 2026 — Combined iDEAL/Wero logo at NL checkouts** <sup>[4][4]</sup>.

**Late 2026-2027 — Wero replaces iDEAL in Netherlands** <sup>[4][4]</sup>: iDEAL disappears 2027.

## Ownership & operator

**Operating entity (since Oct 2023)**: **iDEAL B.V.** — subsidiary of **EPI Company (European Payments Initiative)**.

**Historical (2005-Oct 2023)**: **Currence Holding** — Dutch e-commerce organization (Dutch bank-consortium-owned).

**EPI shareholders**: 14+ major European banks (BNP Paribas, BPCE, Deutsche Bank, ING, KBC, La Banque Postale, Nexi, PSP partners) + Worldline.

**Regulator**: **DNB (De Nederlandsche Bank)** + **ECB**.

## Technical integration

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Channels** | iDEAL online checkout + iDEAL mobile redirect (to user's bank app) + iDEAL merchant QR |
| **Identifiers** | Bank account |
| **Account model** | A2A (account-to-account) bank-direct via consumer's bank app authorization |
| **Coverage** | Nearly all Dutch consumers + 210K+ businesses |
| **Transition (2025-2027)**: iDEAL → Wero migration via combined iDEAL/Wero logo (Jan 2026+) |
| **License**: Payment scheme (Dutch bank-consortium → EPI 2023+) |

## Users & growth

**2025 baseline** <sup>[1][1]</sup>:
- **Annual transactions**: 1.3+ billion (~108M monthly avg)
- **Dutch online purchase share**: 73%
- **Dutch consumer coverage**: nearly all
- **Accepting businesses**: 210,000+

## Use cases

Dutch e-commerce checkout (73% market share); invoices; payment requests via iDEAL link; B2B + government payments; transition to Wero-based pan-European A2A by 2027.

## Implementations & partners

**Operator (since Oct 2023)**: **iDEAL B.V.** (EPI Company subsidiary).

**Owner**: **European Payments Initiative (EPI)** — 14+ major European banks + Worldline.

**Major Dutch alternatives**: **[Wero](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/wero)** (replacing iDEAL by 2027); credit cards (smaller share in NL); PayPal; Klarna BNPL; Apple Pay + Google Pay tokenized over iDEAL.

**Major comparable European A2A rails**:
- **[Wero](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/wero)** (EPI successor; pan-European)
- **[Bizum](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bizum)** (Spain bank-consortium)
- **[Swish](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/swish)** (Sweden bank-consortium)
- **[MB Way](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/mb-way)** (Portugal bank-consortium)
- **[BLIK](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/blik)** (Poland)
- **[satispay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/satispay)** (Italy)

**Regulator**: **DNB + ECB**.

## Fun facts

- **NL's #1 payment method** — 73% of all Dutch online purchases.
- **1.3B+ annual transactions** + 210K+ Dutch businesses.
- **2005 launch by Currence** — Dutch bank-consortium e-commerce-payment scheme.
- **October 2023 EPI acquisition** — European A2A consolidation milestone.
- **2025-2027 transition to Wero** — iDEAL becomes Wero by 2027.
- **Jan 2026 combined iDEAL/Wero logo** at NL checkouts.

## Comparison

| Feature | iDEAL | [Wero](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/wero) (EPI successor) | [Bizum](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bizum) (ES bank-consortium analogous) | [Swish](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/swish) (SE bank-consortium analogous) | [MB Way](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/mb-way) (PT bank-consortium analogous) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | **iDEAL B.V. (EPI Company subsidiary since Oct 2023)** | EPI Company | Sociedad de Procedimientos de Pago | Getswish AB (6-bank Swedish consortium) | SIBS |
| Type | **NL A2A bank-direct payment scheme** | Pan-European EPI A2A digital wallet | Spanish bank-consortium A2A | Swedish bank-consortium A2A | PT bank-consortium A2A |
| Country | Netherlands (→ Wero by 2027) | DE + FR + BE + LU + NL transition + more | Spain | Sweden | Portugal |
| Distinctive | **73% NL online purchase share + 1.3B+ annual tx** | EPI European unified wallet | EPI EuroPA cross-border interop (IT + PT) | EPI EuroPA cross-border interop | EPI EuroPA cross-border interop |

## Status

**Active (transitioning to Wero by 2027)** <sup>[1][1], [4][4]</sup>:
- **iDEAL B.V. (EPI Company subsidiary since Oct 2023)** since 2005.
- **73% NL online purchases + 1.3B+ annual tx + 210K+ businesses**.
- **Jan 2026 combined iDEAL/Wero logo + late-2026 first webshops switch + 2027 iDEAL disappears completely**.
- **DNB + ECB-regulated**.

## Sources

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IDEAL "iDEAL — Wikipedia"
[2]: https://www.airwallex.com/eu/blog/understanding-ideal-payment "Understanding iDEAL — Airwallex"
[3]: https://www.betaalvereniging.nl/en/knowledge-base/online-payments/ideal-wero/ "iDEAL + Wero — Dutch Payments Association"
[4]: https://www.dutchnews.nl/2025/12/ideal-to-disappear-as-european-payment-system-wero-rolls-out/ "iDEAL to disappear, Wero rolls out — DutchNews"
[nl-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/NL

- [1] [iDEAL — Wikipedia][1]
- [2] [Understanding iDEAL — Airwallex][2]
- [3] [iDEAL + Wero — Dutch Payments Association][3]
- [4] [iDEAL to disappear, Wero rolls out — DutchNews][4]
- <sup>[Netherlands report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/NL)</sup> In-corpus: `reports/countries/NL-netherlands.md`

## Source

Biography extracted from [ideal.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/wallets/ideal). See `matrix.md` for standards-support matrix if present.