According to the company, iDEAL is a direct debit payment method that was developed by Dutch banks to make it easier for consumers in The Netherlands to pay for products and services online; using the customer's own bank to provide a familiar, secure and simple means of making purchases.
Upon making a purchase using iDEAL, the funds are instantly debited from the consumer's bank account.
Currently, iDEAL is available to all consumers who are online banking customers of ABN AMRO, Fortis, Postbank, Rabobank or SNS Bank. Consumers who already have online banking with any of these banks can start using iDEAL right away; they do not have register separately for the service.
In addition to a relatively widespread consumer base, the iDEAL payment option offers a desirable bonus to merchants selling digital downloads: no chargebacks.
"iDEAL is perfect for web merchants because payments made with iDEAL cannot be reversed," said a company spokesperson. "As part of the payment process, the consumer specifically requests to authorize the payment using a specialized PIN number, which eliminates the risk of costly chargebacks."
2000Charge Inc. is headquartered in the U.S. with offices in Europe and Asia, and offers merchants a unique set of payment solutions tailored to local markets around the world, with a focus on alternative global Internet payment solutions that are both affordable and easy-to-integrate.
