Accepting in3 as a merchant

 

in3 is a Dutch buy now pay later provider that splits a purchase into three interest-free instalments over 60 days: one third at checkout, one third within 30 days and one third within 60 days. It is well established in the Netherlands on higher basket values, and it is about to be reshaped by two separate events, one commercial and one regulatory.

What the fee is actually for

in3 takes the credit decision and the receivable and pays you, while your customer settles in three parts. You are buying credit risk transfer, working capital and a collections function, not payment processing. That is why the fee sits above card and bank transfer acceptance, and why comparing it to an iDEAL fee produces a conclusion that looks alarming and means nothing. Compare it against your bad debt rate, your days sales outstanding and the incremental revenue it generates.

Basket value decides whether it earns its cost

Instalment methods earn their fee disproportionately at higher order values, where the alternative is genuinely no purchase rather than the same purchase on a cheaper method. On low baskets the substitution rate rises and the economics deteriorate quickly, because a customer who would have paid by iDEAL is now costing you credit economics on revenue you already had. Setting a deliberate minimum order value for instalment presentation is the cheapest control available and most merchants have never set one.

in3 is joining TrueLayer

On 29 May 2026 in3 announced that it is joining TrueLayer, Europe's largest Pay by Bank network, which operates across 21 countries. in3 continues to operate from the Netherlands while its technology and products are integrated into the TrueLayer platform over time, and TrueLayer has said it intends to integrate in3's buy now pay later infrastructure directly into its Pay by Bank platform. in3 has told its merchants that nothing changes operationally for now. What is worth watching is the direction: instalment credit and real-time bank payment converging into one checkout, from a provider whose reach is European rather than Dutch.

From 20 November 2026 this is regulated consumer credit

This is the change that matters most and it applies to every buy now pay later method in your checkout, not only in3. Directive (EU) 2023/2225, the second Consumer Credit Directive, repeals the 2008 directive with effect from 20 November 2026. Member states were required to transpose it by 20 November 2025. The Dutch implementation abolishes the existing exemption for credit repayable within three months at insignificant cost, which is precisely the exemption three-instalment products have relied on. From that date these services fall within the scope of the Wet op het financieel toezicht, bringing an AFM licence requirement, mandatory creditworthiness assessment, BKR registration, stricter information and advertising rules, and an explicit prohibition on offering buy now pay later to minors.

What that means for your checkout rather than for your provider

Your provider carries the licensing obligation, but you carry the consequences. Mandatory affordability checking means a share of customers who are approved today will be declined after 20 November 2026, and a decline at the payment step is an abandoned order unless something else is present to catch it. Stricter advertising rules reach your product pages and your checkout messaging, not only your provider's marketing. If instalment messaging appears on your product pages, that is your copy and your compliance exposure. The sensible sequence is to ask your provider what changes on that date, and to make sure a cheaper immediate method is presented well enough to absorb the customers who no longer qualify.

Which payment provider supports in3?

Mollie, Pay.nl, Worldline and Buckaroo all document in3, as do most gateways serving the Dutch market. The useful questions are the fee as a percentage of order value, the acceptance rate on your customer profile, when you are paid, how returns interact with an open instalment schedule, what share of orders moved off iDEAL after it was enabled, and what your provider expects to change on 20 November 2026.

Reviewing what this costs you

What you pay is set in your PSP contract, not by the scheme. Start by establishing whether you are overpaying your PSP, or look at how a structured payment RFP brings deferred payment methods into scope alongside cards.

Relevant markets: Netherlands, Belgium, Germany