Easily accessible website now required by law

Since 28 June 2025, many websites must be easily accessible to everyone, especially people with disabilities. This is because from that date, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) will come into force. This legal obligation applies to banks and payment institutions, among others, as well as online shops and their order and payment pages.

The new legislation does not yet apply to small businesses, but if they want to grow, they will have to compete with larger online companies that do have to make their websites more accessible. Often, a website can be made considerably more accessible with just a few simple adjustments. Moreover, visitors and customers without disabilities also prefer accessible websites. Ease of use increases for everyone.

In recent years, banks and payment institutions have worked hard on the accessibility of their digital products and services(opent in nieuw venster) , in cooperation with experience experts and interest groups. They hold regular consultations with the regulator to properly interpret and follow the requirements of the EAA.

Each bank has a dedicated information page explaining how their products and services are accessible:

• ABN AMRO: https://www.abnamro.nl/nl/prive/abnamro/toegankelijkheid/(opent in nieuw venster)
• ASN Bank (formerly SNS and Volksbank):
  https://www.asnbank.nl/over-asn-bank/toegankelijkheid.html(opent in nieuw venster)
• ING: https://www.ing.nl/de-ing/toegankelijkheid(opent in nieuw venster)
• Rabobank: https://www.rabobank.nl/toegankelijkheid(opent in nieuw venster)

For webshops, there are also a variety of accessibility initiatives and online resources, including from advocacy organisation Thuiswinkel.org(opent in nieuw venster) .

Here are a few handy online resources to help a website meet the new legal accessibility requirements:

• https://www.mkbtoegankelijk.nl/website/(opent in nieuw venster)
• https://ismijnsitetoegankelijk.nl/(opent in nieuw venster)
• https://www.e-academy.org/e-learning/digitale-toegankelijkheid/(opent in nieuw venster)
• https://www.digitaleoverheid.nl/overzicht-van-alle-onderwerpen/digitale-inclusie/digitaal-toegankelijk/wegwijzer-digitale-toegankelijkheid/(opent in nieuw venster)
• https://accessible-eu-centre.ec.europa.eu/content-corner/news/eaa-comes-effect-june-2025-are-you-ready-2025-01-31_en(opent in nieuw venster)