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Rules for creating and assigning Dutch IBANs to change from 1 July 2020

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On 1 July 2020, the Account Number Regulations will cease to apply and payment service providers established in the Netherlands (PSPs, or Payment Service Providers) will, subject to certain conditions, be able to create 18-character Dutch IBANs entirely themselves (referred to below as NL-IBANs). From that date, the final ten digits of a newly created NL-IBAN (referred to below as the NLREK) will no longer have to pass the Dutch ‘eleven test’, and a ten-digit NLREK will no longer be guaranteed to be unique across all NL-IBANs.

Eleven-test checks and uniqueness assumptions must be fully removed from accounting systems by 1 January 2020

Organisations that store and process Dutch account numbers in their accounting systems must have switched completely to full 18-character Dutch IBANs by 1 January 2020. The eleven test must no longer be used for these NL-IBANs anywhere, and systems must not assume that the final ten digits of an NL-IBAN are unique. During 2020, the same ten-digit NLREK may occur in multiple NL-IBANs issued by different banks.

No more conversion to or from Dutch IBANs

From 1 January 2020, converting a former domestic account number of nine digits or fewer into an 18-character Dutch IBAN may result in an unintended payment to the wrong beneficiary. This is because, during 2020, multiple banks may assign the same NLREK to customers as part of different NL-IBANs.

Likewise, from 1 January 2020 it will no longer be possible to shorten an NL-IBAN reliably to a unique former domestic account number of nine digits or fewer. Shortening different NL-IBANs issued by multiple banks may result in one and the same NLREK.

During 2020, only a complete 18-character NL-IBAN will still be guaranteed to be unique within the Netherlands. Two or more different banks may then create and assign NL-IBANs whose final ten digits are exactly the same. Those final ten digits will be unique only within the same bank.

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