You've undoubtedly seen it before: over the next two years, the iDEAL payment method will gradually be replaced by Wero, a European payment standard. Customers will soon be able to contact the customer service of a company they've paid to directly via Wero or from their banking app.

 

In brief:

• iDEAL is being replaced by a new European payment method: Wero
• With Wero you can communicate directly from your banking app with a webshop, for example
• This is a new contact channel for the customer

Next year, iDEAL will be replaced by Wero, a new European payment platform. By the end of 2027, the popular online payment method iDEAL will be completely phased out. Over the past 20 years, iDEAL has accounted for approximately 72% of all e-commerce transactions in the Netherlands, or more than 1,5 billion transactions annually.

Wero was developed by the European Payments Initiative (EPI), a collaboration of major European banks and payment service providers. Wero is being implemented throughout Europe and is intended to serve as a uniform, secure, and efficient payment method, offering an alternative to major players like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal. Wero is already operational in several countries, including Belgium, Germany, and France. In the Netherlands, payment provider PAY.nl conducted its first Wero transaction with a test merchant on September 18 of this year.

Introduction in the Netherlands

Although the Dutch Banking Association and the Dutch Payments Association do not yet provide any information, both Thuiswinkel.org as a consumer program Radar Their own constituents have already been broadly informed. Within the contact center industry, according to a survey by Ziptone, Wero appears not to be fully established yet. Criminals are already preparing new fraudulent schemes. around the app.

Wero will launch in the Netherlands in 2026. Initially, the iDEAL | Wero brand name will be displayed at online checkouts, in apps, and in online stores. Tools will be made available for organizations with online payment options; consumers will be informed by their own bank. After next year, things will move quickly: the iDEAL brand will be completely phased out by the end of 2027 at the latest.

iDEAL on steroids

Wero maintains iDEAL's strengths: convenience, speed, and a high level of security for consumers. But additional services are also being added. For example, Wero offers purchase protection: if something goes wrong, consumers can contact the webshop directly from their own banking app, which we'll discuss later.

Other features within Wero include the ability to receive instant refunds, "buy now/pay later," and quickly make intercompany payments. It will also eventually allow you to manage subscriptions and pay in physical stores. These new functionalities will be phased in starting at the end of 2026. Daniel van Delft, CEO of Currence, the brand owner of iDEAL, describes Wero as "iDEAL on steroids'.

Implications for the contact center

Contact centers and customer service departments still have about a year to prepare. While not all the consequences for customer contact operations are clear yet, a few things are already certain.

First, as mentioned, consumers will see a different logo at checkout, even though nothing will change at that point. Only after the technical implementation of Wero will additional options, such as installment payments and payment disputes, be available. These kinds of subsequent changes can raise questions among customers.

Wero will be introduced to consumers in two ways: as part of the banking apps they already use and as a standalone app that integrates with their banking information. Banks will be informing their customers in the coming period, but that doesn't preclude questions directed at online stores, for example, during purchase processes or online transactions. Banks themselves can also expect questions, for example, about the option to make peer-to-peer payments (such as via Tikkie) using only a phone number. This is one of the options Wero will soon offer.

Wero leads to new contact flow

The most important change for contact centers is the addition of a new contact channel for customers. While iDEAL strictly separated financial transactions and customer contact, customers will soon be able to contact the merchant directly from a Wero transaction. This direct contact already exists with most credit card apps, and some bank transactions offer similar options. Consider looking up a transaction in the app and clicking on 'contact seller' or 'report a problem' in the transaction details.

Dispute transactions – In its documentation, Wero itself states a minimum amount of 10 euros and a 120-day period (following the Wero transaction) within which a claim can be filed. Under certain conditions, this period can be extended to 540 days. There is a 30-day resolution period, and if a solution is found, the refund must be made within 7 days.

Customers can send a message from the transaction screen, uploading relevant documents, photos, or evidence. This message arrives in the merchant's payment service provider solution, where the merchant can respond with a message or a refund. The rules and fees for so-called "disputes" and "pre-disputes" are still to be announced, according to Wero. This option means that some of the merchant's customer contact can shift to the banking environment.

front office

For the front office, Wero's dispute option creates a new process that impacts customer service, finance, and legal. Disputing or filing a chargeback has different communication characteristics than an email or phone call. The message is part of legal regulations, contains transaction data, and must adhere to specific timelines and processes. In short, it's a formal communication channel.

Technically, the contact also differs from regular customer contact. Messages created by the customer are received by the payment service provider, which then creates a notification for the merchant; this notification then arrives as an email in, for example, the back office or the financial administration department. Another possibility is using APIs that, via webhooks, lead to a message in a CRM system or to a case in a queue on a CCaaS platform.

Customer experience and costs

From a customer experience perspective, the chargeback option allows merchants to proactively and quickly resolve disputes related to issues such as declined purchases, undelivered orders, or incorrect charges. The introduction of the direct dispute option in the banking app could result in an increase in contacts regarding chargebacks.

Web shops (and possibly consumers) will face higher costs from 2028, something that stakeholders in the media warnThe costs are divided into different types.

First of all, Wero will most likely not work with fixed fees per transaction like iDeal, but with a percentage of the transaction amount. Some online stores may pass these fees on to their customers. According to Thuiswinkel.org, it was charging pro rata costs is already common practice In many other countries, and the Netherlands has been an exception until now. When online stores choose to pass on payment fees, this can also raise questions from customers, both at checkout and later via the invoice. Until the end of 2028, there were supposed to be no additional costs for businesses, but starting in 2029, the cost structure will be redefined.

Secondly, the expansion of services—think of the dispute option—also leads to additional costs. Chargeback fees are not charged by Wero, but by payment service providers such as Buckaroo, Payconic, etc. These costs will be specified in their terms and conditions.

(Ziptone/Erik Bouwer)

This article may be updated

Customer Experience, Featured