For most Dutch customers shopping online, credit cards are not the most popular payment method. Businesses trying to reach Dutch shoppers should carefully consider the way they handle payments in the Netherlands. If your business is accustomed to card-dominant markets, the Dutch system can feel unfamiliar at first. But once you understand how locals prefer to pay and why, you’ll be able to adapt your business’s payment stack to meet them on their terms.

Below, we’ll cover what Dutch customers expect, how the iDEAL payment method works, and how to build a checkout that succeeds in this market.

What’s in this article?

• What are the most popular online payment methods in the Netherlands?
  
• How does iDEAL work, and why is it important for Dutch webshops?
  
• How do you add online payment methods such as iDEAL or Klarna to your webshop?
  
• How to choose which online payment methods to include in the Netherlands
  
• What should you consider when choosing an online payment provider?
  

What are the most popular online payment methods in the Netherlands?

Online shoppers in the Netherlands don’t pay the same way as shoppers in the US, the UK, or Germany. If your business is selling into this market, you need to meet Dutch customers where they are, beginning with offering the payment methods they trust.

iDEAL

iDEAL handles around three-quarters of Dutch online payments. Nearly every Dutch customer can use it, because it’s integrated with every major retail bank, and it’s the main payment method used by the vast majority of Dutch webshops. At checkout, the shopper selects their bank, logs in to their banking app, approves the prefilled transaction, and the payment clears instantly. The shopper gets confirmation in real time, and there are no chargebacks, although refunds are still possible.

Credit and debit cards

Credit and debit cards are widely accepted in the Netherlands, but Dutch shoppers rarely use them for online purchases. However, cards are still used in international orders and by expatriates, tourists, and B2B buyers.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL)

BNPL is gaining traction in the Netherlands, especially in categories such as fashion, electronics, and home goods. Klarna, Riverty (formerly Afterpay), and PayPal (Pay Later) are the most popular options, while providers such as in3 are also available.

These services appeal to customers who want to:

• Try before they pay

• Split larger purchases over time

• Delay payment without using a credit card

Digital wallets

Customers in the Netherlands also use digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal, which offer the ability to check out quickly without entering card details. These tend to be popular among younger and mobile-first shoppers.

Digital wallets are useful to include if:

• You’re seeing high mobile traffic

• Your customer base skews younger or more tech-forward

• You want to simplify checkout with one-tap options

SEPA Direct Debit

SEPA Direct Debit is used for recurring payments such as subscriptions, memberships, and monthly billing. It has low fees and wide European reach, but payments take a few days to process.

How does iDEAL work, and why is it important for Dutch webshops?

iDEAL is the primary payments infrastructure for online shopping in the Netherlands. If your checkout doesn’t support it, you’re probably losing potential customers.

When a shopper selects iDEAL at a business’s checkout, they choose their bank from a list and are redirected to their bank’s secure login (via desktop or mobile app). The payment information—including the amount, recipient, and reference—are prefilled. The user authenticates the transaction, and the bank confirms payment instantly. The customer is redirected back to the business’s site with a success message, and the business gets the approval to fulfill the order.

Dutch shoppers tend to prefer iDEAL for the following reasons:

• With iDEAL, customers don’t have to remember or hunt down expiration dates or card verification values (CVVs), and they don’t risk overspending or racking up debt.

• Online banking is deeply ingrained with Dutch customers, and iDEAL builds directly on this habit.

• Because it uses existing bank infrastructure, iDEAL offers a high level of security. Users don’t have to type in card numbers or trust unfamiliar third-party gateways.

Businesses gain the following benefits from accepting iDEAL:

• Once the customer completes the payment, the business receives an immediate success response. This speeds up fulfillment, which in turn improves customer satisfaction and day-to-day operations.

• Unlike credit cards, iDEAL payments can’t be revoked by the customer once confirmed. This reduces chargeback risk for businesses offering this payment method alongside others. Refunds are still possible, and should remain an option for customer service reasons and as part of the customer’s rights, but they’re merchant-initiated.

• Payment providers typically charge a flat fee per iDEAL transaction. There’s no percentage-of-sale fee like there is with cards, which is especially beneficial for businesses with higher average order values.

• Since iDEAL is processed entirely within the customer’s bank environment, a business’s site never handles sensitive card data. That shrinks the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) scope and reduces the technical effort required to stay compliant.

How do you add online payment methods such as iDEAL or Klarna to your webshop?

Adding payment methods such as iDEAL, Klarna, or SEPA Direct Debit to your checkout is a straightforward process. You don’t need separate contracts with banks or complex custom integrations; you just need the right payment provider and a clean implementation.

Here’s how it works.

Choose a provider that supports Dutch payment methods

SEPA and iDEAL payments aren’t universal by default. Look for:

• Native iDEAL support

• Integrated BNPL options such as Klarna or Riverty

• SEPA Direct Debit support, if you have subscriptions

For example, Stripe offers iDEAL, Klarna, SEPA Direct Debit, and Apple Pay in a single integration. You can turn on most methods directly from the Stripe Dashboard. If you’re using an ecommerce platform such as Shopify or WooCommerce, check which plugins or gateways have native support for these methods.

However, iDEAL only works with euros. So if your store uses a different currency, make sure your provider handles currency conversion or sets prices in euros for Dutch customers.

Enable the payment methods in your account

Once you’ve chosen your provider, you’ll typically go to your payment settings or dashboard and toggle on iDEAL, Klarna, or others. Some might require you to accept additional terms. In some cases, you might need to provide more business details for risk underwriting. Klarna typically requires billing and shipping addresses, date of birth, and email to underwrite the transaction, so make sure your checkout collects the necessary information.

Update your checkout to show the new options

This part depends on how your site is built.

• If you’re using a hosted checkout page such as Stripe Checkout, the right payment options will automatically appear based on customer location.

• If you’re using an ecommerce plugin or extension, you’ll need to make sure the payment methods are enabled in the plugin’s settings.

• If you’re building a custom checkout, you’ll use your provider’s application programming interface (API) to add methods such as iDEAL or Klarna to the list of available options.

Good payment providers should have user interface (UI) components that make this easy, such as prebuilt buttons or drop-downs for selecting a bank (in the case of iDEAL).

Test before you go live

Use your provider’s test mode or sandbox environment to:

• Simulate iDEAL payments

• Simulate Klarna flows (e.g., approval, rejection, abandoned cart)

• Confirm that redirects, payment confirmations, and fallback states all work properly

You want to make sure customers see the right options and land back on your site with a clear success or failure message. Klarna and iDEAL have different timing and workflows, so check how refunds are handled across different payment methods.

Launch and make it visible

Once everything works properly, flip your integration to live mode and make sure iDEAL and Klarna logos are visible on your checkout and payment pages. Let Dutch customers know these options are available—for example, with a subtle “We accept iDEAL and Klarna” badge in the footer.

How to choose which online payment methods to include in the Netherlands

At first glance, iDEAL is the most important payment method in the Dutch payment environment. But once you look at customer segments, purchase types, and cross-border needs, it’s usually smart to offer more than one option at checkout.

Here’s how to decide what to include.

Start with iDEAL

This is the standard for local ecommerce. If you’re selling to Dutch customers and do not offer iDEAL, some might not complete the purchase.

Add cards to widen your reach

Credit and debit cards cover customer segments and scenarios that iDEAL can’t, including:

• Expatriates, tourists, or international customers

• Business buyers

• Recurring payments or trial-based products

Customers who prefer credit cards often won’t switch to iDEAL just to shop with you. If your provider supports it, cards are easy to offer alongside iDEAL, and they can help you serve a more diverse customer base.

Consider BNPL if your product category fits

BNPL services such as Klarna are popular for:

• Fashion and retail

• Consumer electronics

• Home goods and furniture

Buy now, pay later gives customers flexibility. It’s not a replacement for iDEAL, but it can lift conversion rates for high-ticket items or support younger shoppers who might want payment flexibility.

Use SEPA Direct Debit for subscriptions or recurring billing

SEPA isn’t used for instant ecommerce checkouts. But if you run a subscription business—with memberships or services billed monthly, or if you sell invoice-based products with recurring fees, then SEPA Direct Debit is probably the right choice. Once a customer sets up the mandate, you can pull funds from their bank automatically, without manual payments or failed reminders. It’s a familiar setup for Dutch customers, who use it for rent, utilities, and gym memberships. It also has low processing fees.

Support digital wallets if your traffic skews that way

Digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay make checkout faster, they’re easy to enable if you already support cards, and they’re useful for mobile-heavy shops or younger audiences. However, they’re not core to Dutch buying behavior the way that iDEAL is.

Use data to refine your lineup

Having too many payment options isn’t always a benefit. Shoppers can get overwhelmed, and checkout user experience (UX) can suffer. Your payment dashboard should show which methods are actually being used and allow you to refine your payment mix from there. Watch for patterns.

• If cards are barely used, move them out of the spotlight.

• If BNPL is popular among new shoppers, promote it more clearly.

• If refund rates differ by method, check for UX or customer segment mismatches.

Payments aren’t static. Customer habits change, especially as new tools gain adoption. An annual review of your checkout mix can help you stay aligned with how shoppers want to pay.

What should you consider when choosing an online payment provider?

The right payment provider shapes your checkout experience, your margins, and how much time your team spends on operations. Here’s what to consider when making a decision.

Local payment method support

First, check that your provider supports iDEAL. That’s nonnegotiable in the Netherlands. Look for providers that also cover:

• Klarna or other BNPL options

• SEPA Direct Debit for recurring billing

• Cards, digital wallets, and multicurrency support for international customers

If you can manage all this from a single integration, that’s even better. Stripe, for example, includes iDEAL, Klarna, SEPA, card, and digital wallet payments in a single platform.

Pricing structure

Understand how you’ll be charged. Fees might include:

• Percentage-based fees

• Per-transaction fees

• Currency conversion fees

• Chargeback fees

• Monthly platform or setup fees

Make sure you’re looking at the total cost. If your business is scaling, check for volume-based pricing or custom tiers.

Integration effort

If you’re building in-house, check whether:

• The provider has clean, well-documented APIs

• Software development kits (SDKs) are available for your stack

• Webhooks are reliable and fast

If you’re not building in-house, check for:

• Official plugins for Shopify, WooCommerce, or whichever platform you use

• Customizable checkout without engineering overhead

Avoid a payment provider that fights your stack and forces you to piece together multiple systems.

Checkout UX

Ask these questions to see if the provider is the right fit for your business:

• Does the provider have hosted checkout pages, or do you need to build your own?

• Can you localize the payment options shown based on customer geography?

• How does the UI handle mobile?

• Can customers complete payments in a couple of clicks?

Your provider’s design patterns affect conversion. Seek out one that removes friction for customers.

Fraud protection, compliance, and security

At a minimum, your provider should:

• Be PCI DSS Level 1 compliant

• Handle Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) automatically

• Support 3D Secure 2 and have safeguards against common fraud patterns

Stripe Radar has all these features, and it also includes real-time fraud prevention tools and configurable risk thresholds. The more your provider handles here, the less risk your team takes on and the less time you spend resolving issues.

Payout timing and currency flexibility

Understand when you’ll be paid. Some providers provide daily payouts, others weekly. If you sell in multiple currencies, can you settle in those currencies, or do they convert everything to your base currency? If you have cross-border sales, it helps to minimize forced currency conversions and the fees that come with them. Some providers let you hold and settle balances in multiple currencies, while others don’t.

Support, reliability, and local expertise

If something goes wrong, will you be able to reach someone who can help?

Check for providers that can offer:

• 24/7 support via chat, email, or phone

• A reputation for fast issue resolution

• Documentation that’s actually useful

• Teams that understand regional expectations

You’re trusting this provider with your revenue flow. It should be able to keep up with your questions and support your needs.