Payments newsletter: Betaaljournaal 16

It was wonderful to see so many of you – our members and stakeholders – attend our annual conference! We saw lively conversations in the foyer and a high level of engagement with the stage programme. All the presentations, the aftermovie and the photos are available on our website. Your enthusiasm – and that of the speakers – really shines through! Unfortunately, our new chair, Gottfried Leibbrandt, was unable to attend in person, but he was able to introduce himself via video in an interview with Donatello Piras. Do take a look. The press release we issued regarding his appointment is below. With Gottfried’s appointment, our board is once again at full strength.

In this issue of Betaaljournaal, you can read more about our activities supporting Ukrainian refugees and our research in collaboration with the Oogvereniging. We also provide an update on various ongoing projects, the latest Thuiswinkel Market Monitor, and call on members for whom it is relevant to sign the Cash Covenant. And be sure to read our Roadmap 2022–2024, in which we outline the expected developments for the coming years. I hope you enjoy reading it!

Gijs Boudewijn, Acting Managing Director

• Gottfried Leibbrandt appointed new chair of the Dutch Payments Association
• Over 30,000 payment accounts for Ukrainian refugees
• Research into payments by blind and visually impaired people
• Dutch Payments Association acknowledges issues in SEO evaluation report on PSD2
• Spending figures: we are going out more often for culture, entertainment and hospitality
• Online spending by Dutch consumers grows by 7% to €8.2 billion in Q1
• Cost study in its final stages
• Sign the Declaration of Conformity for the Cash Covenant
• Consultations
• Roadmap 2022–2024
• Debit Card Acceptance Project
• Acceptgiro – one year to go
• Figures
• Calendar
• Association News

Gottfried Leibbrandt appointed new chair of the Dutch Payments Association

At the general meeting of members of the Dutch Payments Association on 19 May 2022, Gottfried Leibbrandt was appointed as its new independent chair. Leibbrandt holds a PhD in economics from Maastricht University and has held positions including partner at McKinsey and, until 2019, CEO of SWIFT . In this video, he introduces himself, moderated by Donatello Piras. Read the full press release…

Over 30,000 payment accounts for Ukrainian refugees

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, over 30,000 Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands have been able to open a payment account with Dutch payment service providers. That is more than three-quarters of the adults among the nearly 65,000 refugees (including minors) who have so far been registered in the Netherlands. Read the article from 16 May…

Research into payments by blind and visually impaired people

In today’s society, a certain level of digital literacy is required to make payments and carry out banking transactions with ease. Digitalisation offers many benefits, but it also presents challenges. To investigate the challenges faced by people with visual impairments who have some level of digital literacy when it comes to making payments and banking, the Dutch Payments Association, in collaboration with the Oogvereniging, has carried out research. Watch the videos and read the summary…

Dutch Payments Association recognises issues in SEO evaluation report on PSD2

On 20 June, Minister Kaag of Finance presented the evaluation by SEO Economic Research of the Dutch implementation of PSD2 (Revised Payment Services Directive) to the House of Representatives. The Dutch Payments Association acknowledges the issues highlighted in SEO’s evaluation report. You can read the key conclusions and recommendations from the report here. This concerns the national evaluation. Meanwhile, the PSD2 Review Task Force has been set up within the Dutch Payments Association. This task force is coordinating the joint input to the European Commission, which is responsible for the European review process, a process that is set to take some time yet.

Debit card figures: we’re going out more often to enjoy culture, entertainment and hospitality

Since the lifting of the COVID-19 restrictions, we have been going out more often than before the pandemic. This is evident from the explosive rise in the number of debit card payments in sectors such as culture, entertainment and hospitality since March 2022. Over the past two years, the culture, entertainment and hospitality sectors were hit hardest during the various lockdowns, with falls of up to 90 per cent in the number of debit card payments compared with the same months in 2019. Read the full article… For more debit card figures, visit the key figures page at pin.nl .

Online spending by Dutch consumers grows by 7% to €8.2 billion in Q1

Online spending by Dutch consumers totalled €8.2 billion in Q1 2022, an increase of 7% compared with the lockdown quarter of Q1 2021. This growth is driven by the strong growth in services (125%), bringing spending on services back to pre-pandemic levels. For products, there was no growth this quarter, but rather a decline of 18%. At the same time, online spending on products remains at a higher level than in Q1 2020 and Q1 2019 (pre-pandemic). This is evident from the latest figures from the Thuiswinkel Market Monitor, the survey of online consumer spending in the Netherlands. This survey is conducted by GfK, commissioned by Thuiswinkel.org and Retail Insiders, and in collaboration with PostNL, the Dutch Payments Association and Currence. Read the full article.

Cost study in its final stages

In the previous newsletter, Miriam Osten explained the study into the costs and benefits of payments for financial institutions. The data has now been collected and is being analysed. The research report can then be drafted. Following a number of rounds of consultation with those directly involved in the study and approval by the board, we expect to be able to publish the report by the end of September. As soon as the publication schedule has been finalised, we will organise a meeting specifically for our members to explain the results in detail.

Sign the Declaration of Conformity for the Cash Covenant

On 7 April, 23 organisations closely involved in the Dutch payments sector signed the Cash Covenant . The aim of the Covenant is to ensure that cash continues to function effectively as a means of payment at the till, despite the rapid growth of digital payments. The Dutch Payments Association is one of the signatories to the Covenant and has committed to calling on banks and payment institutions that are not directly involved but offer payment accounts in the Netherlands to join. They must then comply with agreements regarding the pricing model for services relating to cash. Institutions that have responded to the call are now listed on the Dutch Payments Association’s website. The Dutch Payments Association approached the institutions directly. If you have missed this, please contact m.blom@betaalvereniging.nl.

The following banks have declared, via a declaration of compliance, that they will fulfil the obligations under Article 4 of the Covenant:

• Triodos Bank (signed 23 May 2022)
• BNG Bank (signed 17 May 2022)

Consultations

• The deadline for responding to the Targeted consultation on a digital euro was 16 June. The European Banking Federation will shortly publish its response, which was prepared with input from the Dutch Payments Association and others. The following consultations are currently open:
• Public consultation on possible amendments to the SEPA Request-to-Pay scheme rulebook , by the European Payments Council, until 26 August 2022.
• The European Payments Council published a public consultation on the draft rulebook for the new SEPA Payment Account Access Scheme (SPAA). This also includes an accompanying document on a possible, additional ‘premium’ functionality that enables securities brokers to request a payment where the transaction costs are not covered by the payer. The consultation covers a period of 90 calendar days, from 13 June to 12 September 2022.
  Public consultation on the SEPA Payment Account Access (SPAA) Scheme Rulebook .

Roadmap 2022–2024

The Dutch Payments Association regards the roadmap as the blueprint that sets the course for its future activities and as the basis for its annual plans, in which specific actions are further refined. The roadmap focuses on the key themes and priorities in the payments sector for the next three years. Read the Roadmap 2022–2024…

Debit Card Acceptance Project

The Debit Card Acceptance project is on track. The aim is that by the end of 2022, almost everyone will be able to pay with Debit Mastercard and Visa Debit (hereinafter: Debit) in the Netherlands. With the exception of a few tests, the debit card payment chain is fully ready to accept and process Debit. The banks have recently sent out Debit offer letters to their merchants. If merchants have no objections to Debit, their existing debit card acceptance agreements will be amended. To this end, the banks are making arrangements with their payment processors. This project also requires the terminals to be adapted. In most cases, this involves a software upgrade and an administrative procedure to activate Debit on the payment terminal. To make things easier for merchants, the banks are making arrangements with terminal suppliers. It is expected that, during the third quarter, the first terminals will be fully equipped to accept Debit.

Communication materials

In addition to preparing the infrastructure, communication is another key component of the DCA project. Information material and answers to frequently asked questions have been available for some time. This is now being supplemented by point-of-sale material (stickers and wobblers) to make it clear to consumers, both on shop windows and at the card terminal, that they can also pay by Debit. This POS material can be ordered free of charge from mid-July via pin.nl .

Monitoring

Finally, the project is setting up a system to monitor the Debit migration. The percentage of terminals adapted for Debit is periodically reported at an aggregated level to relevant stakeholder organisations, so that they can, if necessary, further mobilise their members.
Stakeholder groups are kept informed via various consultative bodies (MOB WEE, Forum Kaartbetalingen, NLB).

Acceptgiro – one year to go

Currence , the product owner of Acceptgiro, has announced that it will cease offering and supporting this paper-based payment product – which has been in use for over 40 years – on 1 June 2023. Acceptgiro distributors who wish to inform their customers and business contacts about the discontinuation of Acceptgiro and/or their new payment method(s) can make use of ‘Acceptgiro Visual Material’ free of charge until 1 June 2023. Read more on the Acceptgiro website .

Figures

Share of smartphones and wearables in contactless payments in May 2022: 28.5%

472 million debit card payments at the point of sale in May 2022: another monthly record

Agenda

• 30 June – Stakeholder meeting (cards/account-to-account payments)
• 29 September – Members’ meeting
• 10–13 October – SIBOS, RAI Amsterdam
• 12–13 October – European Card Payment Association (ECPA) conference, Amsterdam
• 13 October – Stakeholder meeting
• 17 November – General Meeting of Members

Association news

• In April, the Dutch Payments Association welcomed open banking payment service provider Plaid as a new member! Plaid operates globally and holds a Dutch licence as a payment service provider for Europe, as well as being registered as an account information service provider.
• On 19 May 2022, prior to the annual conference, the Dutch Payments Association’s General Meeting of Members took place. At the meeting, the 2021 financial statements were approved and the board received a vote of discharge from the members for the policy pursued during that year. Gottfried Leibbrandt was installed as chair, and Erica Kostelijk (head of transaction banking at ABN AMRO) succeeded Anne Marie Magis as a board member representing ABN AMRO.
• The 2021 annual report was approved.

Members’ bulletin

In addition to Betaaljournaal, the Dutch Payments Association also publishes members’ bulletins. The bulletins are usually published a few times a month and focus on a specific theme. You may be a member but not yet receive these bulletins. You can ask to be added to the mailing list via secretariaat@betaalvereniging.nl.

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