Payconiq

Payconiq
IndustryFinancial services
Founded2015
FounderING Group
HeadquartersLuxembourg, Luxembourg
Key people
Stijn Van Brussel (CEO)
ProductsMobile applications
Owner
  • EPI (2023–present)
Websitepayconiq.com

Payconiq International S.A. is a Luxembourg-based company developing a mobile payment and payment processing platform, active in Luxembourg and Belgium. Since October 2023, it has been controlled by The European Payments Initiative (EPI).[1]

Payconiq had the initial support of ING Bank, which was joined later by Belgian banks KBC Bank and Belfius,[2] and launched its first minimum-viable product in Belgium, in 2015.[3] The company discontinued its services in the Netherlands on 1 January 2022.[4]

The less complete mobile app is today a more fleshed-out platform offering multi-country payment solutions in Benelux, through different types of integration: stand-alone apps, bank app integrations and more.[5]

Luxembourg

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Payconiq International established its headquarters in Luxembourg through the acquisition of the Luxembourgish fintech startup Digicash Payments, in 2017.[6]

In 2019, the company received its Payment Initiation Service license from the Luxembourgish regulator CSSF[7] and some extra financing from its shareholders, amounting to EUR 20 million.[8]

In 2020, the five Digicash apps were rebranded to Digicash by Payconiq,[5] as the company made all its mobile solutions in the Benelux area interoperable.[5] In 2021, the Digicash merchants have started migrating to the Payconiq platform.[5]

Belgium

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Payconiq Belgium and the Belgian payment system Bancontact [fr] announced in March 2018 their intention to merge.[9][10][11] The merger was finalized in July 2018 and the company is currently named Bancontact Payconiq Company.[12] The new company got a capital injection of €17,6 million from its five major shareholders Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, ING, KBC and AXA.[13] It then also merged its two existing payment apps called 'Payconiq' and 'Bancontact' into one app called 'Payconiq by Bancontact' which was supported by 20 Belgian banks and 290.000 stores in Belgium.[11][14]

In 2019, the Payconiq payment solution was integrated in KBC's mobile bank app,[15] followed by ING Belgium, in 2020.[16]

The Netherlands

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Payconiq Netherlands was established in 2018, when the Payconiq mobile payment app was launched into the market,[17] having shareholders in the main Dutch banks: ASN Bank, ING, Rabobank, Regiobank, and SNS.[18] The service was discontinued on 1 January 2022 due to supporting banks choosing to focus their efforts on the competing IDEAL service.[19]

System

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The Payconiq platform connects banks, merchants, payment service providers and consumers, to enable Omni-channel payments online, in store, by invoice or peer-to-peer. It is an API-based platform, allowing for a fast connection and value-added services.[20]

Consumers can download one of the stand-alone apps or use the Payconiq integration in their mobile banking apps (where available), according to their country of residence. They connect their bank account to the app and then are able to make payments to affiliated merchants by scanning a QR-code, or to friends (by e-mail address or cellphone number).[3]

Acquisition by EPI

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On 31 October 2023 the European Payments Initiative announced the closure of the acquisition of Payconiq International, as well as the Dutch payment system Currence iDEAL, in line with its strategy of delivering a unified instant payment scheme for Europe.

EPI’s payment solution, empowered by Payconiq and iDEAL’s expertise, will incorporate a comprehensive range of use cases: person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-professional (P2Pro) payments, followed by online and mobile shopping payments and then point-of-sale payments. A wide range of transaction types will be supported, including one-off payments, subscriptions, installments, payments upon delivery and reservations.

Additionally, value-added services will be incorporated into the solution over time, including responsible ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (BNPL) financing, digital identity features and integration of merchant loyalty programmes.

The deployment of the new digital wallet by EPI, Wero, is scheduled for 2024 in France, Germany, and Belgium, followed by the Netherlands and other European countries at a later stage.

References

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  1. ^ "EPI successfully completes acquisition of iDEAL and Payconiq International". Payconiq. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  2. ^ Dendooven, Pascal. "Banken slaan handen in elkaar voor betalen via smartphone". De Standaard (in Flemish). Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  3. ^ a b "Dutch banks to launch all-in-one app Payconiq". Ecommerce News. 2017-04-20. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  4. ^ "Grootbanken staken Payconiq om vernieuwd iDeal de ruimte te geven". Het Financieele Dagblad. Retrieved 2021-11-01.
  5. ^ a b c d wordpressadmin (2020-11-26). "Digicash and Payconiq users now able to pay mobile in Benelux". Payconiq. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  6. ^ "Digicash: Belgian Payconiq to buy Luxembourg's Digicash". Wort.lu. 2017-08-01. Archived from the original on 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  7. ^ "Payconiq receives the first Payment Initiation Service license in Luxembourg". thepaypers.com. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  8. ^ wordpressadmin (2019-07-25). "Payconiq raises 20 million euros in capital for further development". Payconiq. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  9. ^ "Bancontact and Payconiq Belgium to merge". The Brussels Times. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  10. ^ "Payconiq to merge with Bancontact in Belgium". Finextra Research. 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  11. ^ a b "Belgian payment firms Payconiq and Bancontact to merge operations". Electronic Payments International. Archived from the original on 2019-03-28. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  12. ^ "Payconiq and Bancontact become one joint app". tech2.org. Archived from the original on 2019-02-03. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  13. ^ "Bancontact tankt 15 miljoen euro extra kapitaal bij". De Tijd (in Dutch). 2018-08-03. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  14. ^ "Bancontact en Payconiq samen in één app". De Tijd (in Dutch). 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  15. ^ "Payconiq integrated in KBC/CBC Mobile now as well. | Payconiq by Bancontact". www.payconiq.be. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  16. ^ "ING integreert Payconiq in hun applicatie | Payconiq by Bancontact". www.payconiq.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  17. ^ "Nederlandse winkels kiezen voor mobiel betalen van Payconiq". Payconiq NL (in Dutch). 2018-06-06. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  18. ^ ING.com (2017-04-20). "Banks join forces for Dutch launch of Payconiq". ING.com. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  19. ^ "Grootbanken staken Payconiq om vernieuwd iDeal de ruimte te geven". Het Financieele Dagblad. Retrieved 2021-11-01.
  20. ^ "Payconiq | Company Database | ThePaypers". thepaypers.com. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
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