iDEAL
Hacker ApprovedRanked 7 of 12 payment systems by recommenders
Bank-based Dutch online payment that is fast, simple and accepted almost everywhere in the Netherlands. Main caveat: no chargebacks, so refunds are hard if a merchant fails.
Bank-based Dutch online payment that is fast, simple and accepted almost everywhere in the Netherlands. Main caveat: no chargebacks, so refunds are hard if a merchant fails.
45 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 30
- criticize it
- 15
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 2 years
Median of the 4 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it carries the badge
- 30 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Simple, fast, convenient checkout
“It is stupid simple, and once you've used it you don't want to deal with credit cards and bank transfers for buying a thing on-line any more.”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Wero – Digital payment wallet, Made in Europe” “iDeal is really nice, much nicer to use than credit cards or PayPal imo”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “Wero – Digital payment wallet, Made in Europe” “iDeal is superb and the most convenient payment method I've dealt with.”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment” - Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Wero – Digital payment wallet, Made in Europe”
- Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Wero – Digital payment wallet, Made in Europe”
- Comment from 26 Jul 2026 in “Lidl Introduces the European Payment Method Wero in Germany”
- Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple”
- Comment from 26 Jul 2026 in “Lidl Introduces the European Payment Method Wero in Germany”
- Comment from 27 Jul 2026 in “Decathlon Germany adds Wero payment option to decathlon.de website”
Accepted by nearly every Dutch shop
“iDeal is an enormous success in the Netherlands so if banks implement it as well in other countries then it will definitely be competitive with credit cards”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment” “iDEAL is simply much smoother and even many Shopify/Stripe shops offer it as a payment option nowadays”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Wero – Digital payment wallet, Made in Europe” “iDEAL usage is near universal for online payments”
Comment from 8 May 2026 in “Brazil's Pix Payment System Faces Pressure from Visa and Mastercard” - Comment from 27 Jul 2026 in “Decathlon Germany adds Wero payment option to decathlon.de website”
- Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment”
Better than PayPal or cards
“the Dutch iDeal system, which in my opinion is the gold standard of how internet payment should work”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment” “The whole system is really nice and smooth and definitely much nicer than PayPal in many ways.”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Wero – Digital payment wallet, Made in Europe” “iDeal is really nice, much nicer to use than credit cards or PayPal imo”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “Wero – Digital payment wallet, Made in Europe” Bank-backed, name check reduces scams
“I have been using iDeal for many years now and have yet to see any of the downsides of it being a product of a commercial bank.”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment” “Additionally it allows for things like name to account checking, therefore making it less likely you will be scammed.”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
No chargebacks or buyer protection
“It works very good and user-friendly, but iDeal had a disadvantage: chargebacks aren't possible.”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment” “iDeal is perfect for online shopping, but once the money is gone there is no way to get it back”
Comment from 11 Feb 2026 in “Europe's $24T Breakup with Visa and Mastercard Has Begun” “Once the merchant has your money it's very difficult to get it back if things go wrong.”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Stripe, Advent offer to buy PayPal for more than $53B” - Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Digital euro clears key hurdle as EU seeks to break free from U.S. credit cards”
- Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment”
- Comment from 10 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: What's your preferred digital payment method?”
- Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment”
Limited outside the Netherlands
“Which makes it somewhat less than iDeal for anyone who isn't Dutch.”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment” “Using iDEAL from a Polish account just isn't going to happen.”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment” Poor fraud handling
“iDeal is terrible for fraud. Consumers have to file a police report.”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment” “Indeed, it's terrible for fraud”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment” Needs a phone or app
“This seems to be mobile-centric system that essentially requires a cell phone, and probably one blessed by Google or Apple.”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Wero – Digital payment wallet, Made in Europe” “With Wero/iDeal you always need a phone or a code.”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Stripe, Advent offer to buy PayPal for more than $53B”
Other payment systems people recommend
The four most recommended other payment systems, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pix | 65 | 14 | 82% | 11 | — | Approved |
| UPI (Unified Payments Interface) | 58 | 12 | 83% | 11 | — | Approved |
| GNU Taler | 37 | 26 | 59% | 12 | — | — |
| x402 | 35 | 8 | 81% | 9 | — | Approved |
| iDEALThis page | 30 | 15 | 67% | 7 | 2 yrs4 owners | Approved |
What people said
40 of the 58 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Virtually every Dutch web shop supports iDEAL”
“it's always fast and convenient”
“iDeal is amazing and it's great it's coming to the rest of Europe”
“IDeal always worked in a browser”
“It worked very simple on any device”
“Once the merchant has your money it's very difficult to get it back if things go wrong.”
“With Wero/iDeal you always need a phone or a code.”
“Good luck getting your money back with iDEAL”
“the Dutch iDeal was probably the better name”
“Using iDEAL from a Polish account just isn't going to happen.”
“You can't do that with an iDeal transaction.”
“iDeal is superb and the most convenient payment method I've dealt with.”
“Which makes it somewhat less than iDeal for anyone who isn't Dutch.”
“You cannot do a chargeback on iDeal”
“Additionally it allows for things like name to account checking, therefore making it less likely you will be scammed.”
“I have been using iDeal for many years now and have yet to see any of the downsides of it being a product of a commercial bank.”
“It works very good and user-friendly, but iDeal had a disadvantage: chargebacks aren't possible.”
“Indeed, it's terrible for fraud”
“iDeal is terrible for fraud. Consumers have to file a police report.”
“iDeal sounds like a confession you sell drugs”
“while iDEAL is pretty good, PIX is easier to understand, explain, and deal with.”
“I think any dutchie can vouch that iDeal has been amazing”
“which has been hugely successful”
“the Dutch iDeal system, which in my opinion is the gold standard of how internet payment should work”
“iDeal is an enormous success in the Netherlands so if banks implement it as well in other countries then it will definitely be competitive with credit cards”
“iDEAL usage is near universal for online payments”
“Ideal which (in contrast) also works with a browser + card reader + pin code”
“I use iDEAL through my bank app and it works great”
“that worked fine without any apps”
“iDeal is really nice, much nicer to use than credit cards or PayPal imo”
“But instant online iDEAL payments etc. work fine.”
“In general iDEAL is simple, secure and convenient.”
“iDEAL is the far lower friction option here”
“iDEAL is simply much smoother and even many Shopify/Stripe shops offer it as a payment option nowadays”
“This seems to be mobile-centric system that essentially requires a cell phone, and probably one blessed by Google or Apple.”
“The whole system is really nice and smooth and definitely much nicer than PayPal in many ways.”
“It is stupid simple, and once you've used it you don't want to deal with credit cards and bank transfers for buying a thing on-line any more.”
“iDeal is perfect for online shopping, but once the money is gone there is no way to get it back”
“already works for a lot of global payments”
“sadly offers no consumer protection at all”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.