Dutch online payments system iDeal and its Luxemburg-based software designer Payconiq International are being taken over by the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and will become the basis of a new international payment method.

ABN Amro, ING and Rabobank developed iDeal for the Dutch market but its hoped-for European roll-out never materialised. The system is currently managed by Dutch online payments system Currence.

EPI includes European banking giants such as Credit Agricole, Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas among its shareholders but has so far only developed a system to allow simple transfers between bank accounts – a sort of Tikkie which will be rolled out in France and Germany later this year.

In total, EPI now has 16 partners who control 60% of European current accounts between them. The initiative has the backing of the European Central Bank.

Dutch iDeal users will not notice any changes until the integration with EPI has been completed, when the brand name is likely to disappear. However, this is likely to take several years, the Financieele Dagblad reported.

Some 70% of online payments in the Netherlands are currently made via iDeal.

Improvements

Currence director Daniël van Delft described the takeover as a ‘new international adventure’.

‘In the short term, we will continue our focus on the scheduled roll-out of the new iDEAL and value-added services to improve the use of iDEAL for consumers and merchants,’ he said.

‘For the long term, we look forward to working together with our partners to realise the strongest foundation possible for this truly European payment scheme.’