Issuing Dutch IBANs

Stappenplan uitgifte Nederlands IBAN

• 1. License from DNB

  Anyone who provides payment services in the Netherlands and is not exempt or exempted requires a license from DNB. A payment service provider may issue Dutch IBANs if DNB has issued a license for payment service 3 and/or 5, as referred to in the annex to Directive (EU) 2015/2366.

  DNB publishes more information about the registration process for the license on its website. The statutory decision period for a license application for a payment service provider is laid down in Article 2:3b of the Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht in Dutch)
  and is three months. This period commences as soon as DNB has received a complete license application.

  In certain cases, no license is required. For example, because an exemption is possible, or because no license is required for the services offered. This information can be found on the DNB website.

  The licenses of payment service providers are listed in the public register of DNB.

• 2. SWIFT registration IBAN identifier (BIC)

  The SWIFT BIC Registration Procedures document provides more information about the registration process, publication, and maintenance of BICs issued in accordance with the ISO 9362 standard. It describes the main roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders involved in these processes. To be eligible, the minimum requirement is a European passport via an office based in the Netherlands (ISO 3166-1 country code). Contact SWIFT to apply for an NL-BIC.

  The first four letters of the BIC-8 or BIC-11 are almost always included as an identifier in the NL-IBAN (positions 5-8) and must therefore be unique. SWIFT guarantees this uniqueness. Public register of BICs registered by SWIFT. Registration updates are made according to a fixed publication schedule. If you have any questions about the BIC registration process, please contact SWIFT.

• 3. Connecting to the Banking Information Reference Portal

  Payment service providers that offer accounts with a Dutch IBAN are legally required to connect to the Banking Information Reference Portal. This is stipulated in Article 3:267i of the Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht in Dutch). According to the Ministry of Justice, the average turnaround time for the connection process is six months.

• 4. Connecting to at least one payment scheme

  The European Payments Council (EPC) publishes the regulations and guidelines of various payment schemes, such as SEPA Credit Transfer Instant (instant payment) and SEPA Direct Debit (direct debit), on its website. Requests for changes to these documents are submitted to the Dutch community via the Dutch Payments Association.

  The Dutch Payments Association also acts as the NASO desk for the Dutch community. The EPC describes in detail what a NASO desk does. Our role is limited to providing explanations regarding administrative questions about the procedure. We may assess draft documents from payment service providers. We do not provide legal recommendations and cannot be held liable for the outcome of an application. The EPC is solely responsible for approving applicants’ requests.

  If payment service providers wish the Dutch Payments Association to assess the documents in advance, please note that we must have the documents in our possession digitally at least 7 days before the EPC deadline.

• 5. Overheidsvordering (betaaldienstverleners SDD Core)

  A payment service provider as referred to in Article 1:1 of the Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht in Dutch) is obliged under Article 19:4 of the Collection Act 1990 (Invorderingswet 1990 in Dutch) to satisfy a claim against the taxpayer, without the taxpayer being able to invoke set-off. The Dutch government has introduced the Government claim for this purpose.

  The Government Claim is a government instrument—not a payment product—that uses the SDD (SEPA Direct Debit) system. Because of this, only payment service providers that are accessible to SDD Core can fulfill this legal obligation.

  The Dutch Payments Association manages the specifications for the Government Claim. The specifications for submitting a Government Claim (in Dutch) within SEPA by authorized government institutions are public. The specifications for payment service providers can be requested via giraal@betaalvereniging.nl by payment service providers that are accessible for SDD Core.

• 6. Registreer BIC bij Betaalvereniging Nederland

  For transactions between Dutch IBANs, you are not required to enter the BIC in addition to the IBAN. Participants in the payment system can supplement this information using a public NL-IBAN BIC list. The Dutch Payments Association maintains this list.

  Any payment service provider that wishes to participate in Dutch payments with its own Dutch IBANs is strongly advised to have its own details included in the list. There is no charge for this service.

  Contact the Dutch Payments Association as soon as the DNB license has been granted, the BIC has been assigned, and a CSM and the link to one or more payment schemes have been arranged. To request the inclusion of a PSP’s BIC and identifier in the NL-IBAN BIC list, or in the event of changes, please provide us with the information below. Please send this to giraal@betaalvereniging.nl, cc r.vlek@betaalvereniging.nl. We recommend that you contact us one month to two weeks prior to the desired publication date.

   

  Name of PSP
  Publication in DNB Register as:	Bank/ payment institution/ or electronic money institution
  BIC-8/BIC-11
  Identifier (4 letters for positions 5-8 of NL-IBAN)
  Desired publication date	yyyy/mm/dd
  Contact details for future information exchange	Name email phone number
  SEPA scheme adherence SCT/ SCTinst/ SDD_Core/ SDD_B2B
  Direct participant or indirect participant via
  Target group payment accounts	private/ business/ both/ n/a

• 7. IBAN samenstellen volgens regelgeving

  • The structure of the NL-IBAN is as follows: NL2!n4!a10!n – see SWIFT IBAN BIC Registry.
  • The NL-IBAN complies with the global international standard ISO 13616.
  • Only a complete IBAN is unique. Syntax checking is according to Modulus 97, in accordance with ISO/IEC 7064. The check digit in positions 3 and 4 of the NL-IBAN ensures that the IBAN can be checked for input errors.
  • The identifier code in positions 5-8 of the NL-IBAN is linked to the PSP’s BIC.
  • SWIFT IBAN BIC Registry refers to the NL-IBAN exception: Avoid the digits 099 in positions 9-11 of the NL-IBAN, immediately after the BIC. This digit sequence is reserved for G accounts and is only provided by G account offering banks. The exception clause prevents confusion; a ‘099’ account is always a G account. Furthermore, excluding this series of digits ensures that the PSP will still be able to join the Closed User Group in the future and offer G accounts to customers. This would not be possible if the ‘099’ series were already active for ‘regular’ accounts.
  • With the exception of the 099 series of the G accounts, the last 10 digits are determined by the payment service provider. Payment service providers decide for themselves whether they want to issue known account numbers. Examples include the last 10 digits of the account numbers of the Dutch Tax Administration or charities.
  • Avoid reissuing IBANs. Reissuing the last 10 digits of the IBAN automatically results in an exact copy of the entire IBAN. This will undoubtedly lead to an increase in undue payments when transferring money to your customer.

• 8. Setting up a check with the Central Guardianship and Administration Register

  Pursuant to Civil Code (in Dutch) 7:401, “the care of a good contractor” must be observed when performing work. A payment service provider must ensure that they know their clients and only provide appropriate financial products or services to clients. Dutch legislation therefore requires a PSP to check whether someone applying for an account is under guardianship or administration and is therefore restricted or excluded from applying for a payments account themselves. A check of the Central Guardianship and Administration Register is therefore mandatory. This means that KYC and CDD are also necessary when issuing e-money accounts.

  De Rechtspraak offers a central link to your organization’s software:

  • Web service Central Guardianship and Administration Register (in Dutch)
  • Web service Central Insolvency Register (in Dutch)

• Optional: Procedures for members of the Dutch Payments Association

  • CONNECT account-to-account electronic notification system
    Members of the Dutch Payments Association can connect to the CONNECT account-to-account electronic notification system. This free online incident management tool allows payment service providers to inform each other when there are disruptions in payments. Planned maintenance is also reported. Employees for whom such information is relevant can receive a notification about the cause and expected turnaround time. Payment service providers can both post and receive messages in CONNECT giro.
  • Service for requesting the name, address, and place of residence (NAW) of the beneficiary
    Members of the Dutch Payments Association have agreed on certain procedures that they adhere to. These include the procedures for requesting the name, address, and place of residence of a beneficiary. These are the Procedure for Undue Payments (POB) and the Procedure for Beneficiary Name, Address, and Place of Residence Data in the Event of Non-Bank Fraud (PNBF). The first procedure, the POB, largely replaces the Request for Recall by the Originator of the SCT/SCTinst Rulebook for transactions between Dutch BANs (unless the customer insists on following this EPC procedure). The advantage of the Dutch procedure is that it leads to an 80% refund and provides for the possibility of providing name and address details if no refund is made (unlike the European RFRO). With the name and address details, the payer can request a refund through the courts. The latter also applies to the PNBF. Before the PNBF is executed, the victim must be able to show a report regarding the transaction for which the name and address details of the beneficiary are requested. Payment service providers and CPSPs that are not members of the Dutch Payments Association can also participate in these procedures. Please contact us for more information.
  • Switching service
    Article 10 of the Payment Account Directive 2014/92 (EU) describes the provision of a switching service. Various members of the Dutch Payments Association work together in the Switching Service.