Currence, brand owner of iDEAL, will invest considerably to modernise the underlying technology and add value to iDEAL with new services.

The decision to invest coincides with the planned retirement of CEO Piet Mallekoote. As of February 2021, Daniel van Delft will lead Currence and the transformation of iDEAL as the new CEO.

Stronger-than-expected growth in 2020

Almost 900 million iDEAL transactions are expected to take place this year, some 30% more than the 667 million iDEAL payments in 2019. As a result of the corona crisis, consumers shop more online, which led to a stronger growth in iDEAL transactions than expected. The rapid increase in mobile payment requests between consumers via iDEAL is also contributing to this strong growth.
Easier to connect and faster expansion

iDEAL has been around for 15 years and needs to be revamped, despite its success. The investment in iDEAL aims to replace the technical infrastructure and create a basis for new functionality and services. ABN AMRO, ING and Rabobank, the shareholders of Currence, have agreed to the investment.

Payment service providers and merchants will be able to connect to iDEAL more easily in the future. Additional value-added services can be developed faster. These services will not only be developed by Currence but also by affiliated payment service providers. In this way, the strong position of iDEAL will be further expanded in the future.

The first new functionality will be the ability to check out quickly with iDEAL. All customer data required for a smooth order and delivery can be automatically passed on to the webshop. In addition, the customer’s preferred bank for iDEAL payments will be remembered for future purchases.

Market consultation with stakeholders

To coordinate ideas and plans for iDEAL with stakeholders, Currence iDEAL today launches a market consultation among all license and certificate holders (the banks and payment institutions offering iDEAL to businesses and consumers).

Piet Mallekoote, outgoing CEO of Currence: “I am proud to have co-founded Currence and to have led the Currence organisation for the past 15 years. Together with the affiliated banks and payment institutions, we have made iDEAL the most successful online payment method in the Netherlands. Compared to online payment methods in other countries, iDEAL is also unprecedentedly successful. With this investment in innovation and expansion, a long cherished wish has been fulfilled to make iDEAL future-proof, so that it will remain strongly positioned for years to come.”
New CEO in February 2021

Daniel van Delft, the current Country Manager of Visa in the Netherlands, will be appointed new CEO of Currence as of February 2021, succeeding Piet Mallekoote. Currence’s organisation will be expanded to meet its new ambitions. At the same time, the organisation will become more agile and innovative, with a strong focus on business development and faster implementation of new solutions.

Daniel van Delft: “I am very honoured that the shareholders of iDEAL have chosen me as CEO of Currence to lead this transformation. Together with current and new employees, we will prepare iDEAL for the future. Our plans are ambitious, but we are building on the solid foundation Piet has laid. I am confident that, together with the participants in the iDEAL ecosystem, we will be able to strengthen and further expand our leading position.”