NETHERLANDS

Source: IMF, International Financial Statistics, July 2021.

• The Dutch central bank is De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB – www.dnb.nl).
• The DNB is a member of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and operates certain activities, such as issuing currency, under the authority of the European Central Bank (ECB – www.ecb.europa.eu).

Bank supervision

• In November 2014, the ECB, via the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), assumed responsibility for supervising the financial stability of banks operating within the euro zone. However, while the ECB has final supervisory authority over all banks operating within the euro zone, it will only directly supervise those banks classified as ‘significant’ under the terms of the SSM (115 significant banking groups have been recognized to date). ‘Less significant’ banks will continue to be supervised by the national supervisory authority, i.e. the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (De Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM – www.afm.nl)).

• Lifting fees are not applied on payments between resident and non-resident accounts

• DISCLOSED / UNDISCLOSED 

Both options are available, undisclosed solutions are only offered to well-rated companies. 

• RECOURSE / NON-RECOURSE 

Both solutions are offered but the market demand mainly consists of recourse factoring. 

• STRUCTURED PRODUCTS 

Offered products are: receivables financing/purchasing, stock financing and payables. Off-balance (IFRS/ Dutch GAAP) A/R only. 

• STOCK FINANCING 

Only in combination with receivables. 

• EXPORT / IMPORT 

Import factoring via FCI. Export factoring via BNP Paribas factoring network companies. 

• CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS 

Standard concentration level is 15%-20%, more is possible depending on the creditworthiness of the debtor. 

• MAX. PREPAYMENT % 

Up to 90% for recourse or non-recourse business and 100% for off-balance purchase. 

• CREDIT COVER % 

Re-insurance is 100%. 

• USUAL FUNDING PERIOD 

60 - 90 days depending on sector and risk spread. 

• OFF-BALANCE SHEET SOLUTIONS 

One shot & recurring off-balance sheet solutions can be offered to large corporate/listed clients. 

• INVOICE TRANSFER 

Electronic transfer. 

• ON-LINE APPLICATIONS 

The client can consult portfolio information and financing possibilities through Client-Manager plugged to Aquarius (real time). 

• DELAYED DUNNING 

Delayed dunning is possible up to 90 days. 

• DATA FACTORING 

Data factoring is common practice in the market. 

• CURRENCIES OF FINANCE 

Common currencies are EUR, USD and GBP. Others are possible on request.

• Credit transfers are used by companies to pay salaries and suppliers, and to make tax and treasury payments.
• SEPA credit transfers can be settled via equensWorldline CSS, STEP2 or via correspondent banking networks.
• Approximately 37 banks in the Netherlands participate in the SEPA credit transfer scheme.
• The Telegiro Nieuwe Stijl (TNS), a domestic low-value and urgent credit transfer scheme, was closed in 2020.
• IBAN-Acceptgiros are pre-prepared, in-payment transfers initiated by the payee. Plans to phase out IBAN-Acceptgiros in 2019 were cancelled, although their use is falling rapidly.
• Instant Payment credit transfers are processed within five seconds and are immediately credited to the account of the beneficiary, regardless of where the account is held. Instant Payments are available 24/7, 365 days of the year. Large Dutch banks offer the service via their online and/or mobile channels using the clearing and settlement services of EquensWorldline. There is no value limit for instant payments within the Netherlands. Cross border instant payments have a maximum limit of EUR 100,000 per transaction. The Dutch Instant Payments scheme fully complies with the EPC’s SCT Inst Scheme. All participating Dutch banks automatically process payments via mobile devices and internet banking as Instant Payments.
• There were 372 million Instant Payments in 2020 (201 million in 2019), with a value of EUR 276 billion (EUR 149 billion 2019).
• High-value and urgent EUR-denominated domestic and cross-border (within the euro zone) credit transfers can be settled in real time via TARGET2.
• High-value and urgent cross-border credit transfers can also be settled with end-of-day value via the Euro Banking Association's EURO1 system. Five banks in the Netherlands participate directly in EURO1.
• Cross-border transfers can be made via SWIFT and settled through correspondent banks abroad.
• The European Payment Council’s SCT Inst scheme (a pan-European 24/7 instant payment scheme for SEPA credit transfers) enables the transfer of funds (the maximum threshold value is EUR 100,000) to another account in less than ten seconds. There are 10 participants.
• EBA Clearing and Italy’s SIA Group have developed and implemented a pan-European platform for instant EUR payments called RT1. It is fully compliant with the SCT Insts scheme and is in line with the ISO 20022 global messaging standards for instant payments.
• EBA Clearing has launched a pan-European request to pay (R2P) infrastructure solution with the support of 27 payment service providers from 11 countries. The new 24/7 service is compatible with the SCT and SCT Inst schemes and allows payees to take the initiative to request a specific payment from the payer.
• TIPS is a pan-European service for the settlement of instant payments in central bank money. The service enables payment service providers and ACHs with access to TARGET2 to offer fund transfers 24/7, 365 days a year. TIPS is aligned with SCT Insts. It is primarily focused on EUR payments but is technically capable of settling payments denominated in other currencies.

• Direct debits are used for regular payments, such as utility bills.
• SEPA direct debits can be settled on a same-day basis via equensWorldline CSS or STEP2.
• There are 25 Core SDD participants and 15 B2B SDD participants.

• Cheques have not been issued Netherlands since 2002.
• Legacy cheque items are occasionally used despite being expensive and difficult to negotiate.
• Cheques are cleared bilaterally between banks.

• Card payments, particularly debit cards, are increasingly popular, especially for retail transactions.
• In 2020, there were 4.87 billion debit card transactions, with a value of EUR 126 billion. There were 30 million credit card transactions, with a value of EUR 2 billion.
• There were 30.1 million debit cards and 6.1 million credit cards in circulation at the end of 2020.
• Visa and Maestro/MasterCard-branded payment cards are the most widely issued.
• American Express and Diners Club credit cards are also available.
• Most card payments are settled via EquensWorldline CSS.
• Contactless card technology is available and widely used in the Netherlands. In 2020, the share of contactless payments using payment cards had increased to 85% by end 2020.
• All cards issued are SEPA-compliant with EMV chips.

• There were 3,540 ATMs in the Netherlands at the end of 2020.
• There were 328,000 EFTPOS terminals in the Netherlands at the end of 2020.
• Payments are settled via equensWorldwide CSS.
• All ATMs and POS terminals are EMV-compliant.
• Netherlands’ three largest banks ING, Rabobank, and ABN AMRO have announced plans for a joint ATM network covering the whole country. The partners started migrating the network in early June 2019 and aim at completing the project by the end of 2021.

• MasterCard’s MasterPass electronic wallet payment platform facilitates online purchases by MasterCard, Visa and American Express card holders in the Netherlands using PCs and mobile devices.
• There were 15,000 payment cards with an e-purse function in circulation at the end of 2019.
• Digital wallet services such as MasterCard’s MasterPass, iDEAL, NETELLER and Skrill are available and widely used. The number of mobile contactless payments reached 116 million in 2019.
• E-money payments can be settled via equensWorldwide CSS.

• BNP Paribas has a long heritage of supporting international trade flows in the Netherlands, and now ranks third in the market for large corporates. The Global Trade Solutions (GTS) team in the Netherlands includes 3 marketers, 1 trainee (IVB - International Volunteers in Business) and 10 middle and back officers. The direct handling of a variety of GTS products and services by experienced local specialists, with support across front-, back- and middle offices is greatly appreciated by corporate clients as it ensures short communication lines, close relationships and a detailed understanding of corporates' international trade needs.

• The EU has trade agreements in place with over 30 countries.
• The EU is currently in free trade negotiations with a number of countries, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Australia, Indonesia, Mercosur (the Southern Common Market), Uruguay, and the USA.
• The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement came into force on 1 May 2021.

Source: IMF, International Financial Statistics, July 2021.