ING has decided to shut down Payvision – the controversial international card acquirer and payments platform that the Dutch bank acquired in 2018 for €360 million

ING announced that its subsidiary Payvision will start phasing out its services as a payment service provider (PSP) and acquirer.

„After a thorough evaluation of all options in the context of the rapidly evolving and increasingly competitive and capital intensive e-commerce merchant market, ING has concluded that it is not feasible to achieve its ambitions with Payvision. The aim is to complete the phase-out process by the second quarter of 2022,” the bank said.

Payvision and ING will inform their clients of the consequences the decision will have for them, which in most cases will involve selecting a new service provider. Payvision and ING will support their clients in the transition to a new service provider. Until the termination of services, Payvision will continue to fulfil its contractual obligations to meet clients’ expectations.

__________

A competitor to Adyen and Worldline, Payvision has been mired in controversy relating to dubious business practices undertaken prior to its acquisition by ING. Dubbed the „Wirecard of the Netherlands” by the European Funds Recovery Initiative, Payvison been held responsible for processing hundreds of millions of euros in payments that were generated from investment scams, according to Finextra.

Last year ING sold half of Payvision’s operations for a nominal 1 euro – the part of the business that included payments processing for gambling and pornography customers including PornHub – leaving it with less profitable online payment processing activities.