Betaaljournaal 27
Newsletter Dutch Payments AssociationSpring is in the air, also in payments, with new payment methods, at the counter and online, and with our annual report. The yearly survey on POS payments by DNB and the Payments Association shows that physical debit cards are giving way to virtual debit cards on our smartphones and smartwatches. The Thuiswinkel Market Monitor reports on shifts in online payments. Shopping Tomorrow looks at much easier and faster future online payment methods. These include direct debits, deserving a smooth and reliable way to provide e-mandates. The Instant Payments Regulation came into effect at the beginning of this month, offering great prospects for online account-to-account payments, but also at the counter as an alternative to card payments. Lots of digital developments and in the process we should not lose sight of accessibility and inclusion in payments. The European Accessibility Act that comes into force next year, should contribute to that. And finally, spring brought two new members to our ranks: we are pleased to welcome Anadolu Bank and Yapi Kredi Nederland as members of our association.
So spring brings us many new opportunities and challenges and I hope that this newsletter can inspire its readers.
Gijs Boudewijn, managing director
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- New phase for Incassomachtigen e-mandates at Betaalvereniging Nederland
- Annual Report 2023: Dutch payments at EU forefront
- Successful migration to new version of ISO 20022 message standard
- Accessibility Act approved by Dutch Senate
- New expert group for digital accessibility of web shops
- Timeline set for Instant Payments Regulation
- Consultation on SEPA Verification-of-Payee Rulebook
- Furthermore
- Association news
- Figures
- Agenda
New phase for Incassomachtigen e-mandates at Betaalvereniging Nederland
Since February 1, 2024, we have taken over the operational and technical product management of Incassomachtigen e-mandates from Currence. We intend to also assume legal ownership from Currence by the end of June 2024.
Incassomachtigen provides a simple method of issuing a valid direct debit mandate online through the bank, without a paper signature. Incassomachtigen allows a payment account holder to have amounts agreed with a biller, automatically debited from his or her payment account through European direct debits. Incassomachtigen can be used, for example, to pay by direct debit for a product or service ordered online, for an online purchase in an online store, for an insurance policy or subscription taken out online, and to pay tuition or a membership fee. The tax authorities now offer an increasing number of taxes to be collected via Incassomachtigen e-mandates.
The Payments Association wants to make Incassomachtigen more efficient and effective. We have therefore set up a task force together with members and consulted with various stakeholders to shape our ambitions.
You can follow developments for Incassomachtigen on https://www.incassomachtigen.nl/.
Annual Report 2023: Dutch payments at EU forefront
The Dutch Payments Association presents its annual report for 2023. A major theme running through our annual report are the developments and legislation in the EU for which the Dutch payment system proves to be an inspiration. In the Netherlands, for example, Instant Payments were already widely introduced in 2019 under our direction. Last year, the EU agreed on legislation that will make Instant Payments mandatory throughout the EU from 2025.
The year 2023 also had us work on inclusion and accessibility in everyday digital payments, and that remains high on our agenda this year. These and many other topics that we focused on in 2023, are covered in our 2023 Annual Report.
Successful migration to new version of ISO 20022 message standard
For the interbank exchange of SEPA payments, there is the message standard ISO 20022. A new version of this standard was to be introduced in November 2023, along with changes to SEPA Rulebooks from the EPC. Unfortunately, the EPC was forced to postpone the introduction date to March 2024. Despite the fact that most participants were ready, the EPC deemed the risk of maintaining the original implementation date too great. Isolating participants who were not ready proved impossible, in part because the volume of current cross-border SEPA payments is significant.
At the request of the Dutch National Bank, the Payments Association set up an interbank task force to tightly supervise the progress of testing and preparing for the (delayed) implementation. This task force held weekly meetings from mid-September to the end of March on progress and on special measures to be ready on time in the Netherlands. Weekly status reports were submitted to DNB. Bottlenecks were decreasing, test results were improving and the participants were ready in time with a stable environment. The banks and Worldline determined that everyone could migrate responsibly. Consequently, between March 15 and March 18, 2024, the migration was flawless. We will organize a final evaluation with our members.
Accessibility Act approved by Dutch Senate
On April 2, the Dutch Senate passed the ‘Implementation Act for the Accessibility of Products and Services’. Parliament had already approved the act on March 14.
De Tweede Kamer had die al aangenomen op 14 maart.
This act is an important milestone in making Dutch products and services more accessible. It incorporates the European Accessibility Act (EAA) into various national laws. From June 28, 2025, Dutch companies are required to make their (digital) products and services sufficiently accessible to everyone. Products and services covered by these laws include online stores, customer services, laptops, smartphones, payment terminals and ATMs, ticket and check-in machines in public transport, the 112 emergency number and banking services. At the Payments Association, the Task Force European Accessibility Act (TFEAA) is working hard to implement all legal requirements. The TFEAA holds regular consultations with Dutch regulator AFM (Financial Markets Authority) and various interest groups.
New expert group for digital accessibility of web shops
The new Accessibility Act that will come into force by mid-2025, states that people with disabilities must have the same (online) possibilities throughout the European Union as people without disabilities.
Last March, together with the Level Level agency, we set up an expert group to work on good digital accessibility of webshops and especially on their check-out procedures. This expert group is part of the broader Shopping Tomorrow programme of Thuiswinkel.org.
With our expert group we work on a blue paper to inspire the e-commerce market and to provide practical tools for good digital accessibility. The core research question is: why should every webshop/check-out be digitally easily accessible?
There is still much work to be done but we are making good progress. On April 10, we were hosted by the legal consultants of Pinsent Masons for our group’s second meeting in this joint adventure. Caitlin de Rooij from Level Level and Michel van Bommel from the Payments Association delved into the new laws and regulations and Rik Wouters talked about his personal online shopping experiences with his visual impairment.
We are proud to be part of this inspiring group of e-commerce professionals and payment service providers to jointly make a difference for digital inclusion.
Timeline set for Instant Payments Regulation
On March 19, 2024, the European Union officially published the Instant Payments Regulation (IPR). The IPR ensures the rollout of Instant Payments across the European Economic Area (EEA, including EU). This publication marks the end of the European legislative process for Instant Payments. It gives payment service providers within the EEA clarity on the implementation timeline for the various obligations implied by the IPR. Virtually all banks within the Euro zone should receive Instant Payments from January 2025 onwards and be able to send them from October 2025 onwards. In addition, they should provide verification-of-payee (such as the Dutch IBAN Name Check) as of October 2025. We have set up several working groups to assist our members in meeting all requirements on time.
Experts from the Payments Association explain in several Dutch articles how instant payments have been rolled out in the Netherlands and what the European Union aims to achieve with the new Instant Payments legislation.
Consultation on SEPA Verification-of-Payee Rulebook.
The European Payments Council has launched a public consultation for the Verification-of-Payee Scheme Rulebook and for a document containing proposed verification guidelines under the rulebook. The rulebook will assist PSPs in offering verification-of-payee within SEPA.
We will respond to the consultation on behalf of our members. The deadline for submitting responses is May 19, 2024.
Furthermore
Mobile payments on the rise |
Follow-up pilot with more banking information desks in libraries |
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| More than seven out of ten POS payments were contactless in 2023. Contactless payments are increasingly made with a smartphone or smartwatch, without a physical card. | In the follow-up pilot 18 libraries and three major banks explore how the can jointly help people with questions about digital banking, as part of a broad Accessible Banking programme. |
Dutch online consumers spend more on vacations than ever in 2023 |
Payments Association roadmap updated for new developments in European payments |
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| Dutch consumers spent €34.7 billion online in total in 2023, a growth of 3% compared to 2022. | The Accessible Banking programme in cooperation with the Dutch Banking Association is now explicitly included in our roadmap. |
Association news
We welcomed Anadolubank and Yapi Kredi Bank as new members to our association. We are pleased with this expansion and with the involvement of our members in the activities of the association.
See our website https://archief.betaalvereniging.nl/en/about-us/become-a-member/ for more membership information.
Figures
Agenda
- May 16 – Social consultation on payments
- May 16 – General Member’s Assembly and ‘Constant Contant’ seminar, Amsterdam
- May 23 – EWPN, Amsterdam
- June 10 – Stakeholder Forum, Amsterdam
- June 4 to 6 – Money 20/20, Amsterdam
- June 13 – Payment Institutions Advisory Council
- June 18/19 – EBA Day, Lisbon
- June 20 – Advisory Council
- June 27 – Board meeting
Member Bulletins
In addition to this Betaaljournaal, the Dutch Payments Association issues Member Bulletins. These bulletins usually appear a few times a month and relate to a specific topic. If you are a member and you do not yet receive these bulletins, you can subscribe to the mailing list via secretariaat@betaalvereniging.nl.
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