Currence owns the Dutch payment and identity products iDEAL and iDIN, and is also the former owner of Incassomachtigen. All these solutions allow consumers to pay and identify online through their own bank — securely, reliably, and at scale. For the past decade, Roland Thijssen has been Product Manager at Currence, working on technology and operations across the three solutions. In this conversation, Roland shares insights into Currence’s role in the evolving payments landscape — including in iDEAL’s growth into the leading online payment method in the Netherlands over the past 20 years — and the company’s long-standing collaboration with Maxcode.
What’s going on in the fast-moving payments space right now? Which trends or developments are you most excited about, and how does fintech play a role in this?
“The most important and exciting development for iDEAL right now is the migration to Wero. This transition marks a significant milestone, opening up opportunities to expand both the scale and scope of payments for consumers and merchants who rely on iDEAL. But also for the past years the ongoing transformation of iDEAL has been exciting. Together with all iDEAL partners, Currence built an entirely new platform and successfully migrated the full transaction volume to it. This achievement has allowed us to introduce new features and enhancements, positioning iDEAL for the future by opening up opportunities to expand both the scale and scope of payments for consumers and merchants who rely on it.”
What makes Currence’s approach to scheme governance, standards and secure digital payments unique?
“What truly sets Currence apart as an organization is the broad and diverse collaboration ecosystem in which we operate. By engaging daily with this network, Currence leverages a wealth of knowledge and experience that has enabled it to become the robust and secure payment method it is today, while simultaneously embracing the innovation and agility required to thrive in the fast-moving digital payments market.”
What have been the key challenges for your company, and how have you addressed them?
“Needless to say, Currence’s unique role within this extensive collaboration ecosystem comes with its own challenges, notably related to facilitating collaboration with all participants. From the very beginning of iDEAL, Maxcode has supported us by developing and maintaining custom applications that enable seamless interaction within the ecosystem. These have been instrumental in allowing Currence and our partners to conduct testing, report incidents and communicate effectively across the iDEAL scheme.”
How else has your partnership with Maxcode supported your technology and product development?
“Spanning more than two decades, the long-standing partnership between our two companies has fostered a deep understanding of each other’s needs, enabling effortless collaboration on numerous technology and product-development projects. Combined with Maxcode’s strong technical expertise, this relationship has resulted in highly successful cooperation over the years.”
Looking ahead, what are Currence’s main priorities and ambitions for the next 12 to 18 months?
“In the coming period, our main focus will be the migration of iDEAL to Wero. We are putting a great deal of effort into ensuring this transition is smooth and successful, once again in close collaboration with our ecosystem of partners and suppliers. We look forward to having Maxcode support us on this journey in one way or another.
