Cookie statement

In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between the Dutch and English versions of this Cookie Statement, the Dutch version shall prevail.

This Cookie Statement provides information about the use of cookies on the website of the Dutch Payments Association. We explain what cookies are, which cookies we place ourselves and which cookies are placed by third parties via our site, and how you can manage your cookie preferences. Our starting point is that we want to optimize your experience on our website without unnecessarily infringing on your privacy. That is why we only use cookies or similar techniques to the extent necessary and clearly inform you about third-party cookies.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device (computer, tablet, smartphone) when you visit a website. Information is stored in such a text file. That information can be read by the website during a later visit. Cookies can be used for various purposes: from enabling the website to function to analyzing visitor behavior or remembering your settings and preferences.

In addition to cookies, there are other technologies that store or read data on your device, such as JavaScript, web beacons, pixels, or Local Storage. For the sake of readability, we mainly use the term cookies in this statement, but we also mean these similar technologies.

Which cookies do we use?

On the website of the Dutch Payments Association, we use the following categories of cookies:

1. Functional cookies

These are cookies that are necessary for the website to function properly and to improve its user-friendliness. Without these cookies, the site may not function properly. Characteristics of our functional cookies:

• They remember your preferences or settings, for example. Think of remembering that you have closed the cookie notification, so that it does not reappear every time you visit the site.
• They can also be used to track whether you are logged in (where login functionality applies) or to maintain your session on the server.
• No prior consent is required for the placement of strictly functional cookies, as these cookies have no or only minor consequences for your privacy.
• These cookies usually do not contain any personally identifiable information and often have a shorter lifespan. Many functional cookies are so-called session cookies: these are temporary and are deleted as soon as you close your web browser.
• Example: our site may place a session cookie called PHPSESSID to identify your visit as a unique session. This cookie is given a random temporary ID and is deleted immediately after you close your browser.

2. Analytical cookies

Analytical cookies enable us to measure and analyze the use of the website. With the help of these cookies, we collect statistics on visitor numbers, pages visited, traffic sources, and so on. These insights help us to continuously improve the site. Important to know:

• We use the open-source software Matomo for our web statistics. This runs on our own servers (we host Matomo ourselves, not with an external party), which means that the data is not shared with third parties. In addition, we have set up Matomo to be privacy-friendly:
  • IP addresses are anonymized (as mentioned earlier: the last part of your IP is not stored).
  • We have respected the “Do Not Track” function, which means that if you have set your browser to not be tracked, our statistics will honor this request.
  • No personal profiles of your surfing behavior are created; we only look at aggregated trends.
• We use the data we collect via Matomo and the associated cookies exclusively to keep track of general visitor statistics and to generate reports on how the site is performing. No directly traceable personal information is stored via these analytical cookies. For example, we can see which pages are popular and which search terms or external links visitors use to arrive at our site, but we do not know who you are.
• Cookie name examples: You can recognize our analytical cookies by names that start with _pk (the standard naming convention for Matomo cookies). For example, _pk_id is used to give your browser a unique (anonymous) ID so that we can distinguish whether you are a new visitor or a returning visitor. Another cookie, _pk_ses, indicates that you are currently in an active session (visit) and usually expires after 30 minutes of inactivity.
• Lifespan: Matomo cookies have a limited validity period. _pk_ses (session cookie) expires shortly after your visit, _pk_id remains valid for 13 months by default, but we may shorten this period in accordance with our policy of storing data in detail for a maximum of 1 month. Data older than 1 month is only stored by us in aggregated form.
• Because we set the analytical cookies in a privacy-friendly manner (anonymized data, own storage, no data sharing with third parties), we are allowed to place them without explicit consent according to the guidelines. Nevertheless, we clearly inform you about this. You always have the option to opt out of analytical tracking by, for example, activating the “Do Not Track” setting in your browser or using an opt-out plug-in. We also offer you the option to refuse measurement via our site (see below).

3. Third-party cookies (embedded content and services)

In addition to the cookies we place ourselves, cookies are also placed on our site by third parties. This mainly happens when we integrate external content into our website or use external services. Such cookies are the responsibility of those third parties. We explain the main ones below:

• YouTube: On pages where we have embedded YouTube videos, YouTube (owned by Google) places cookies as soon as you play the video and, in some cases, as soon as the video player loads. These cookies can, for example, remember your preferences or track how many visitors have seen a video. Examples are VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE (to estimate bandwidth and adjust video quality) and YSC (a unique ID for tracking statistics on videos viewed, expires at the end of your session). YouTube may also use cookies to analyze your viewing behavior for personalized recommendations or advertisements on their own platform.
• Vimeo: If there are Vimeo videos on our site, Vimeo may place similar cookies when you watch a video. These cookies help the Vimeo player function properly and give Vimeo insight into statistics (such as the number of times the video has been played). Examples include cookies such as vuid (which gives users an anonymous ID for statistics) and other technological tools.
• Albumizr: Cookies or local storage items may also be used for the interactive photo albums we display via Albumizr. One possible cookie set by Albumizr is a session identifier to remember which photos you have already viewed, or to prevent the same notification from appearing repeatedly. These cookies mainly ensure that the photo slideshow runs smoothly and can also be used to track anonymized viewing statistics (e.g., which albums are popular). According to public information from, for example, the Central Bank of Malta, Albumizr uses a cookie to remember the user session and track interaction with the embedded content (valid for up to 180 days).
• Google Maps: A Google Maps map may be embedded on our site (for example, on the contact page with our location). When displaying the map, Google places cookies such as NID or OGPC to remember settings (such as zoom level, language) and collect user statistics. These cookies may contain information about your interaction with the map and are used by Google in accordance with their own privacy and cookie policies. Google may use this information to personalize the user experience or for general analysis of the use of Google Maps.
• Social media and tracking: Although we do not use external social media plug-ins that directly place cookies (such as a Facebook “Like” button that connects when the page loads), the external links or embedded feeds you visit may contain cookies from those platforms if you interact with them. For example, Twitter may place cookies if you view an embedded tweet stream, or Facebook may place cookies if we have embedded a feed.

Please note that we do not have complete control over which cookies these third parties place and what data they collect in them. These third-party cookies often have their own expiration times and privacy policies. More information about this can be found in the cookie and privacy policies of the respective services: Google/YouTube, Vimeo, Albumizr, etc. If you do not want third-party cookies, you can block them in your browser settings (see below). Please note that certain content on our site may then not be displayed or may only function to a limited extent.

4. Other cookies/techniques

In occasional cases, a new cookie or script from a third party not yet mentioned above may be loaded via our site, for example in the context of a new functionality, an external link, or a temporary test. We make every effort to keep this list up to date and will amend the Cookie Statement where necessary. If you encounter a cookie that is not mentioned in this statement, please let us know so that we can add the information.

Cookie consent and settings

Requesting consent: Insofar as cookies are not strictly necessary or privacy-neutral, we will – in line with the law – ask for your consent before placing them.

When you first visited our site, we therefore showed you a cookie notification or banner. In that notification, you can indicate your preference (for example, by agreeing to all cookies, or by disabling certain categories if that option is offered). Your choice is stored in a cookie, so you do not have to reconfigure the settings each time you visit.

Managing your preferences: You are in control of your cookie settings:

• If you change your mind after giving your consent, you can delete the cookies from our site via your browser, after which the cookie notification will reappear and you can make a new choice.
• You can also restrict or block the placement of cookies via your internet browser settings. You can delete all existing cookies from your device and set your browser to refuse new cookies. How you do this varies from browser to browser. Please consult the help function or settings of your browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Internet Explorer, etc.) for instructions on managing cookies. Please note that if you refuse cookies from our site, some parts may not function optimally.
• For certain analytical cookies, we may offer an opt-out button or setting on our website itself. For example, a link “Disable website analysis” that places an opt-out cookie that prevents further tracking. If such a mechanism is available, you will find it in the cookie banner or on this page.
• For third-party cookies, you can often indicate that you do not want to be tracked via the settings of those parties. For example, Google and Facebook/Instagram offer options to disable ad personalization in your account.

Consequences of refusal: You are completely free to disable cookies. Please be aware that certain functionalities may then be limited. For example, a video embed that depends on cookies may only work after you accept the cookie and privacy terms of the video service. Where possible, we will display a clear notification in places where external content is blocked due to your cookie settings, so that you can still choose to load that content (and accept the associated cookies) if you wish.

No use of advertising cookies

We do not use tracking cookies for advertising purposes and we do not display external advertising banners on our website. This means that you will not encounter cookies from advertising networks such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or other marketing platforms that track you across the web on our site. We have made a conscious decision to do this so that your visit to our site is as privacy-friendly as possible and does not contribute to commercial tracking profiles.

Any references or links on our site to products or services (for example, in our texts or news items) are purely informational and are not sponsored by advertisers via cookies. You can consult this website without marketing profiles being built up about you.

Changes

This Cookie Statement may be amended from time to time, for example in the event of changes in legislation, our services, or the composition of the cookies we use. We will bring important changes to your attention via the website (e.g., a notification or updated cookie banner). The date of the last change is indicated at the bottom of this statement.

We recommend that you regularly consult this Cookie Statement so that you remain informed about how we use cookies.

Last modified: October 2025