National Forum on the Payment System (NFPS)

The NFPS contributes to secure, reliable, accessible, and efficient payments by:

• discussing developments in payments and their social consequences, including any bottlenecks.
• collaborating in the collection, analysis, and publication of information relating to the social aspects—security, reliability, accessibility, and efficiency—of Dutch payments.
• making (principle) agreements on measures to promote the security, reliability, accessibility, and efficiency of Dutch payments.

What the NFPS has achieved

The NFPS was established in 2002 by the Minister of Finance. Since then, it has achieved some impressive results, such as:

• 2004: agreement on rounding cash payments to 5 euro cents. This made 1 and 2 euro cents redundant.
• 2004: publication of a cost study on counter payments in 2001, which mapped out the costs of cash and debit card payments for payment service providers and merchants. Based on this study, we promoted electronic payments at the counter.
• 2007: Agreement on (compliance with) a socially accepted accessibility standard that everyone has access to one or more ATMs within five kilometers as the crow flies.
• 2013: Establishment of the Euro Retail Payments Board (ERPB) by the European Central Bank (ECB). This consultation was inspired by the Dutch NFPS.
• 2015: Publication of the NFPS’ vision on cash, containing agreements on the availability and acceptance of cash. These agreements were renewed in 2020.
• 2019: Introduction of instant payments after a four-year process led by the Dutch Payments Association, partly at the insistence of the NFPS.
• 2022: Signing of the Cash Covenant by a number of NFPS members and several other parties, including cash service providers. The Covenant contains agreements on the accessibility, availability, and acceptance of cash.
• 2023: Commitment and joint program by banks to improve the accessibility of payments, especially for people in vulnerable positions.
• 2025: Publication of recommendations entitled ‘Think ahead, also for payments’, which help consumers and points-of-sale institutions to prepare for emergency situations in which electronic payments are unavailable for 72 hours.

Cooperation

The NFPS is a consultative body that brings together the most important stakeholders in Dutch payments. The participating organizations represent various groups on the demand side of payment services (such as consumers and businesses) and on the supply side (such as banks and payment institutions).

The Ministry of Finance(opens in new window) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy(opens in new window) are observers in the NFPS.

Working groups and task forces

DNB chairs the NFPS and provides the secretariat. The NFPS has three working groups:

• Efficiency and European affairs: this working group focuses on cost-efficient and smooth-running payments. It also looks at European developments and their impact on payments in the Netherlands.
• Accessibility and Availability: this working group focuses on the accessibility and availability of payment products and services for all groups in society. The aim is to enable everyone to participate in payments as independently as possible.
• Security: this working group focuses on the physical and digital security and robustness of payments.

There are currently two task forces operating under the NFPS, namely the Digital Euro Task Force and the De-risking Task Force. The Dutch Payments Association participates in all working groups and task forces under the NFPS on behalf of its members.