The job is done and the customer wants to settle up right away, but cash no longer fits and a transfer takes time. With a payment request (betaalverzoek) you send a link or show a QR code, and the customer pays in a few taps from their own banking app. Using a business payment request is simple, but a few rules and pitfalls come with it.
Below you can read what a payment request is, how it works and what the move from iDEAL to Wero means. After that come the difference with an invoice, how to prevent fraud with payment requests and how to send a payment request in four steps.
In short:
- With a payment request you ask someone to pay you an amount digitally, via a link or a QR code. Anyone with a Dutch bank account can pay it, whatever their bank.
- In the Netherlands a payment request is usually paid via iDEAL, which is moving to Wero step by step. The ambition is to complete that migration by the end of 2027.
- If you are obliged to invoice, the invoice is still needed. The payment request is the way to pay, not a replacement for the invoice.
- A customer checks your company name, the amount and the description. According to Wero, Wero and the bank never ask for personal details outside the secure banking environment.
What is a payment request?
Betaalvereniging Nederland, the Dutch payments association, describes a payment request briefly: with a payment request you ask someone to pay you an amount digitally. The sender and the payer do not need to bank with the same bank: anyone with a Dutch bank account can send or pay a payment request. According to Betaalvereniging Nederland it is also an easy way for freelancers and small organisations to receive payments, for example for a service delivered.
Business payment request
You send a business payment request from your business account, in your bank’s app or through a payment service provider. Companies can also send a payment link, for example by e-mail, text message or WhatsApp, says Veilig Bankieren, the awareness campaign of the Dutch banks. If you are looking for a payment request for your business account, check your bank’s app first. According to iDEAL | Wero, payment requests via iDEAL | Wero are created by so-called C2C providers, banks among them. With such a C2C payment the money first goes to an intermediate account of the provider, and it is in the recipient’s account by the next working day at the latest.
How does a payment request work?
Broadly, the steps look like this:
A payment request does not stay open forever. The company sets a payment term, and once it has expired the customer can no longer pay with iDEAL | Wero. The same applies if the request has already been paid. How long a payment request is valid differs per bank or provider; check your own app.
Payment request with a QR code
According to Betaalvereniging Nederland you create a QR code for a payment request in your banking app and show it on the screen of your smartphone or tablet. Handy at the counter or at a market, where the customer scans the code and pays right away. Companies also use QR codes on payment pages, invoices, till screens and in e-mails. Bear in mind that anyone can create a valid QR code for a transfer online, fraudsters too. That is why the customer checks the web address, the amount, the recipient and the description after scanning.
From iDEAL to Wero
iDEAL is becoming Wero, the European digital wallet. In October 2025 iDEAL announced that from 2026 it would be called iDEAL | Wero, as a first step in a gradual transition. From early 2026 the combined logo replaces the old iDEAL logo in webshops, banking apps and on payment pages. In the background, transactions are moved step by step to the European Wero platform, under the supervision of De Nederlandsche Bank. The familiar steps, choosing the bank and approving the payment, stay the same.
On 26 October 2026 the European Payments Initiative, the company behind Wero, announced the next phase: e-commerce payments via Wero at all participating Dutch consumer banks. Businesses are invited to switch, and the joint ambition is to complete the migration by the end of 2027. According to EPI, new payment options such as paying for subscriptions and paying on delivery will be added in the second quarter of 2027. From 1 January 2028 purchase protection in Wero will be available to Dutch consumers, via the participating banks and payment service providers. Betaalvereniging Nederland calls Wero a payment method in development, with which you can also send a mobile payment request to someone else. Consumers do not need to do anything for the rollout; as a business owner, ask your bank or payment service provider what changes for you.
What the move means for your business
For businesses that accept iDEAL, the move takes place in two phases until the end of 2027. In the first phase, from the first quarter of 2026, only the logo changes: your checkout keeps working, your payment service provider stays the same and you do not need to change anything. By the end of 2027 at the latest, according to iDEAL | Wero, every iDEAL merchant will have moved to Wero, after which the iDEAL brand will gradually disappear. According to its own page, those milestones are still subject to coordination with the supervisor. Wero is adding new features in phases, such as subscriptions, refunds and payments between people. So keep an eye on the messages from your bank or payment service provider.
In summary: iDEAL is now called iDEAL | Wero and is gradually merging into Wero, with the end of 2027 as the ambition. For your customer the steps to pay stay the same.
Payment request or invoice?
A payment request asks for money, an invoice records what you delivered. According to the Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) you issue an invoice for all goods and services you supply to other businesses. If you are obliged to invoice, it must include among other things your full name and that of your customer and your VAT identification number, plus your KVK number if you are registered with the KVK. The invoice date, an invoice number, the amount excluding VAT, the VAT rate and the VAT amount belong on it too. A payment request with only an amount and a description does not contain these details.
| Feature | Payment request | Invoice |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Getting the customer to pay | Recording what you supply and what it costs |
| Required when supplying businesses | Not required | Required, with the Belastingdienst invoice requirements |
| Content | Amount, description and a link or QR code | Among other things name, VAT number, invoice number and VAT |
| How they fit together | The link or QR code on or with the invoice | The invoice number in the description |
So the two complement each other. Put a payment link on the invoice or send the payment request together with the invoice, and mention the invoice number in the description. Then the customer always uses the right account number and invoice number, as Veilig Bankieren puts it, and you see straight away in your records which invoice has been paid. For small amounts, up to and including €100 including VAT, lighter invoice requirements apply.
Recognising and preventing a fake payment request
Payment requests are popular with fraudsters too. An e-mail, text message or payment request with a wrong link is, according to Betaalvereniging Nederland, a common way to steal details. The Fraudehelpdesk warns about fake messages that supposedly come from a phone provider, the Belastingdienst or a debt collection agency, with a link or QR code to pay. The more a fake payment request looks like a real one, the more important it is that your own requests are easy to recognise. What you can do as a business owner:
On the customer’s side, iDEAL | Wero gives a few fixed checks: the payment page starts with https://pay.ideal.nl, the company name is in the description, and the beneficiary and amount must match what was agreed. Logos offer no certainty, according to Betaalvereniging Nederland, because anyone can put a logo in a QR code. If something does go wrong, the customer reports it to their own bank as quickly as possible. Businesses can also report fraud to the Fraudehelpdesk.
The 1-cent trick and fraud via a marketplace
If you also sell items via a marketplace, you will come across a well-known trick. A so-called buyer asks you to transfer 1 cent as a check and sends you a payment link for it. According to the Fraudehelpdesk that link leads to a fake website, and all the details you enter there end up with the fraudster. The advice is short: do not go along with it and do not click the link. On such platforms contact and payment often run via messages and payment requests, says the Fraudehelpdesk, which makes it easy for fraudsters to pose as buyer, seller or the platform itself.
Good to know: a payment via iDEAL | Wero cannot be reversed. Only the recipient can pay the amount back, so if the amount is wrong, agree with your customer how to put it right.
Customers without a banking app
Not every customer pays digitally. Betaalvereniging Nederland points out that digital payment services must be as accessible as possible, so that vulnerable groups can keep using them too. According to Betaalvereniging Nederland, in 2023 banks committed that customers who do not bank digitally can keep using non-digital basic services. So put your IBAN on the invoice next to the payment link, so that a customer without a banking app can simply transfer the amount.
Sending a payment request in 4 steps
This is how you create and send a payment request that your customer recognises and can pay straight away:
Enter the amount and put your company name and the invoice number in the description. Want several customers to pay? Then create a separate payment request per customer.
Choose how long the request stays open, within what your bank or provider allows. After the term the customer can no longer pay.
Send the link through the channel you agreed with the customer, or show the QR code if the customer is with you.
Check in your banking app that the request has been paid and the money is in your account, and book the payment against the right invoice.
Payment links and invoices with Vivid
With a business account from Vivid you can let customers pay via a payment link. You can create a payment link that is single-use or reusable, and you share it as a URL or as a QR code:
That way the invoice and the way to pay sit together: the customer receives the invoice and can pay straight away via the QR code or the payment link.
Vivid in short: payment links and invoices with a QR code from the same business account, so your customer can pay straight away.
Let customers pay via a link
A business account with payment links and invoices with a QR code. You apply online.
Frequently asked questions
What is a business payment request?
A link or QR code with which a company asks a customer to pay an amount digitally. The customer opens the link, chooses their own bank and approves the payment.
How long is a payment request valid?
That differs per bank or provider. The company sets a payment term; once it has expired, or if the request has already been paid, the customer can no longer pay.
Is iDEAL being replaced by Wero?
Yes, step by step. Since 2026 iDEAL has been called iDEAL | Wero, and the ambition is to complete the migration to Wero by the end of 2027. For the customer the steps to pay stay the same.
What does Wero change for my business?
At first only the logo: iDEAL | Wero. Since 26 October 2026 EPI has been inviting businesses to switch. Ask your bank or payment service provider what that means for you.
Is a payment request an invoice?
No. If you are obliged to invoice, an invoice must contain the details the Belastingdienst requires. A payment request is the way to pay the invoice.
How do you recognise a fake payment request?
Check whether you are expecting a request, whether the sender is right and, for an iDEAL | Wero payment, whether the payment page starts with https://pay.ideal.nl. Look at the name, the amount and the description. If in doubt, get in touch using details you already know.
Can a payment via a payment request be reversed?
The payer cannot reverse a payment via iDEAL | Wero. Only the recipient can pay the amount back.
Can you send a payment request via WhatsApp?
Yes. According to Betaalvereniging Nederland most payment requests are sent by message, for example via WhatsApp, Signal or text message. Agree with your customer which channel you will use, so the request is recognisable.
This article provides general information and is not legal or financial advice. The rules and dates mentioned are as published by iDEAL | Wero, the European Payments Initiative, Betaalvereniging Nederland, the Fraudehelpdesk and the Belastingdienst, and may change. Vivid’s payment services are provided by Vivid Money S.A., an electronic money institution authorised and regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) in Luxembourg; its Dutch branch is registered with De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) as an electronic money institution. iDEAL, Wero and other brand names mentioned belong to their respective owners.
