iDeal

Introduced in 2005 and based on online banking, iDeal is an e-commerce form of payment in the Netherlands. It allows the customers to buy goods on the internet by using direct transfers from their bank accounts. Used in over 54% of all Dutch online transfers, up to 2014 it’s still by far the most popular method of payment. In 2006 alone, it managed to process over 4.5 million transfers, 15 million in 2007, 28 million in 2008 and 282 million in 2016. Owned by Currence, a Dutch organization, in 2016 all its transactions exceeded one billion.

Features

It’s a payment method that’s made up of a collection of standards and agreements that allows for an immediate bank transfer. Some of its features include
· It allows payment through online banking.
· It offers real-time confirmation of payment and irreversible transfer into the account of the retailer.
· It’s ideal for immediate online transfers and retrospective payments that involves an email link.

Why it’s good

Currently, over 60% of Dutch shoppers use it to pay for almost all their online purchases. It’s not only secure and convenient but also a trusted way of paying for goods online. When using this method, customers transfer cash directly from their bank account and through the banking product that they are used to. This ensures that the payment process can be guaranteed and can’t be reversed by the customer. The customer’s bank, therefore, guarantees that the payment process is secure.

Participating banks

iDEAL has been seamlessly integrated into 10 of the largest banks in Dutch. Customers can, therefore, log into their bank accounts when they want to transfer the payments. Some of the participating banks include Triodos Bank, ABN AMRO, SNS BANK, ASN Bank, Rabobank, Knab Bank among others. Currently, the use of this payment is increasingly becoming more than just the Commerce platform. For instance, online customers can now send payments record together with their invoices so that they can immediately be processed through iDEAL. More so, most charities have already started to use this payment method.

How it works

When using this payment method, customers process the payments through their bank. This means the security of the process is guaranteed by the bank. Once they have checked out, customers choose iDeal payment followed by the bank. They then forward this to the bank that asked them to log in. This means that the amount of money to be transferred has already been filled hence the customer only need to authorize to complete the process. Once this is done, the bank confirms and the customer is then taken back to the webshop. Since the payment is guaranteed, the merchant can continue with processing the order.

Final words

After every payment that you do on this platform, you will receive a confirmation hence it’s very secure. The debit is also immediately visible in your credit and debit overview. The good thing is that you do not have to register to use this platform. If you are using internet banking, then you can pay through Ideal. To ensure that you secure your transactions, it’s recommended that you secure your browser and computer.