How investment platform Semmie handles investor deposits with licensed iDEAL payments from OPP

OPP and Semmie partnered because Semmie needed a specific licence: one that allows a payment service provider to move money from a customer’s own bank account into that customer’s investment account. OPP handles all of Semmie’s payment flows and verifies every new account holder.

Semmie is a Dutch fintech that makes investing accessible to everyone. With an independent digital investment platform and low-threshold services, the scale-up attracted many thousands of users after its founding in 2017, and in 2025 it rebranded as SemmieWealth. From the start, it had very specific requirements for payments.

The partnership: a licensed provider for the payment Semmie needed

For an investment platform, the first payment question is how the money gets in. Semmie had a precise answer in mind: customers would move money from their own bank account into their own investment account. That requirement narrowed the field of payment providers considerably.

OPP holds a licence from De Nederlandsche Bank, the Dutch central bank, as a payment institution. It allows OPP to move money from a consumer’s own bank account into an account held for them, which is what brought OPP and Semmie together.

The challenge: a fast-growing challenger that needed a partner, not a vendor

OPP had the licence Semmie needed. But what made the partnership stick was a shared way of working. Both were fast-growing challengers with a strong focus on technology and on automating whatever can be automated, and Semmie wanted a provider that would think along with it, rather than one where it would be one customer among many.

Our solution: iDEAL deposits and identity verification for every new account

OPP handles all of Semmie’s payment flows. Once logged in, a customer starts an iDEAL deposit from the app or desktop through OPP’s online payments, the money lands in their investment account, and Semmie starts investing with it. To prevent fraud and make sure the person opening an account is who they claim to be, OPP also verifies the identity of every new account holder through its consumer onboarding.

One idea the two companies explored together was periodic iDEAL. Many customers invest a fixed amount at fixed times, which Semmie collects by direct debit. A direct debit can be reversed, which is not desirable once the money has been invested. PSD2 opened the door to periodic iDEAL payments, and Semmie and OPP looked at how such a payment could replace the direct debit.

The impact: a payment partner for growth beyond the Netherlands

Semmie already served Belgian clients, who paid via Bancontact through OPP, alongside iDEAL for its Dutch customers. When this story was first published, Semmie also had ambitions to grow into other European markets such as Germany, where OPP has had an office in Berlin since 2020.

What this means for you: why fintech platforms need a licensed PSP

If your platform moves money from a consumer’s own bank account into an account you hold for them, you need a payment service provider that is licensed for exactly that kind of payment, and not every provider is. With OPP, the licence, the identity verification and the payment methods come together, and new ideas such as periodic iDEAL are explored with you rather than sold to you.

Want to see how OPP could set up the payments for your platform? Get in touch to learn more.