iDEAL

A consortium of all the major Dutch banks developed the iDEAL payment method in 2005 to make it easier for their customers to pay online for products and services. iDEAL allows online payments to be made using online banking through the consumer’s own bank.

iDEAL is available to all consumers who are online banking customers of the participating Dutch banks. Consumers who already have online banking can start using iDEAL right away, as they do not have to register separately for the service. iDEAL increases the merchant’s sales as it allows consumers to make online purchases in a familiar, secure and simple way. Transactions are performed by the consumer within their own banking environment and takes only a few simple steps.

Upon purchase, the funds are instantly debited from the consumers account. This payment method is “ideal” for merchants because payments made using iDEAL cannot be reversed. As part of the payment process, the consumer is specifically requested to authorize the payment via the bank’s supported email, text or security token notification method. The payment cannot be cancelled once they have clicked the payment button, so the payment is guaranteed to the merchant with low risk of returns.