EPI Company has announced acquisition plans of iDEAL and Payconiq International , new shareholders and the upcoming launch of its instant payment solution. As per the information detailed in the press release, EPI (European Payments Initiative), iDEAL and Payconiq International (PQI) are set to collaborate towards realising EPI’s vision of setting up a new, ‘innovative’, and unified payment solution for Europe.

The European payment landscape and EPI Company’s vision Currence iDEAL is a Dutch payment scheme, whereas PQI is a Luxembourg-based payment solutions provider that services iDEAL in the Netherlands, Bancontact Payconiq Company in Belgium, and Payconiq in Luxembourg. The agreement with the shareholders of these companies has been reached, and the acquisition is set to go forward, subject to approval by the competent national and European authorities. Having combined their expertise for the past two years, EPI’s shareholders, BFCM, BNP Paribas, BPCE, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, DSGV, ING, KBC, La Banque Postale, Nexi, Société Générale and Worldline, have showcased determination in building a solution set to ensure Europe’s payment sovereignty.

The announcement details that four new shareholders have joined, namely Belfius and DZ Bank, at the end of 2022, and ABN Amro and Rabobank, two Dutch banks. Commenting on the Currence iDEAL and PQI acquisition, Martina Weimert, CEO of EPI Company advised that EPI is set to leverage their operational experience, know-how, and local market knowledge and collaborate towards the development of a scalable platform that addresses the payment needs of European consumers and merchants with efficient, advanced technology. Built for Europe, the EPI solution leverages the instant, account-to-account (A2A) payment scheme that is widely available in the region.

EPI is going to enable Europe-based banks and acquirers to collaborate, providing increased efficiency and value to customers via direct and instant payments between bank accounts. Furthermore, EPI is set to serve as a foundation for the fulfilment of the European Commission's and European Central Bank/Eurosystem’s pan- European retail payments strategy, and a catalyst to improve Europe’s position as a global payment innovator. Daniel van Delft, CEO of Currence iDEAL advised that following the company’s acquisition by EPI, it will focus on the scheduled roll-out of the new iDEAL and value-added services to improve the experience for consumers and merchants alike.

Adding on this, Guido Vermeent, CEO of Payconiq International stated that the company is looking towards expediting its mission and contributing to an innovative payment solution for consumers and businesses in Europe with EPI. EPI’s plans for an all-in-one digital wallet solution EPI’s shareholders aim to deliver increased value for Europe-based merchants and consumers, and the EPI product is set to be a multi-faceted digital wallet and an instant A2A payment method under one brand, unified across all countries in the region. Looking to address a wide array of use cases, in the initial stage EPI is set to enable person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-professional (P2Pro) payments, followed by online and mobile shopping payments and point-of-sale payments.

Additionally, an extensive range of transaction types will be supported, including one-off payments, subscriptions, instalments, payments upon delivery and reservations. Value-added services are also set to be incorporated into the solution in due time, such as responsible Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) financing, digital identity features and integration of merchant loyalty programmes. Based on the information detailed in the press release, EPI’s digital wallet with P2P payment functionality will launch in a pilot phase for the first users by end of 2023 across France and Germany, with a wider market launch planned for 2024 in Belgium, France, and Germany, markets that represent over have of all non-cash payments in the Euro area.

Expansion to additional European countries will follow, as EPI and its members are actively working towards the solution’s development, preparing for its implementation and roll-out. .