Month: January 2018

If you wish to make an investment, you will have to open a separate investment account. Your bank will normally offer you three different approaches. If you are experienced in making investments, you can simply instruct the bank to buy stocks and shares for you. Alternatively, you can ask the bank for advice before making any investment or you can let the bank make decisions regarding what investments to make on your behalf. This third option is called vermogensbeheer (managed portfolio fund). You will usually be given a choice of various types of managed fund, depending upon how much risk you are willing to take on your initial investment. Needless to say, the higher risk funds may yield larger returns, but normally require a commitment for considerable time (more than 10 years). Depending on the bank, you can directly purchase shares on the Nederlandse effectenbeurzen (Dutch stock exchange) as well as from some overseas markets. Managed funds will typically be managed by the bank’s own fund managers (and include investments in liquid assets, bonds, real estate and shares). The bank will charge a fee for administering your investment portfolio.

If your bank goes bankrupt or runs into trouble, you will not lose all your money. This is because there is a guarantee system in place to help account holders: the Deposit Guarantee Scheme .

All banks holding a banking authorisation granted by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) are covered by the Deposit Guarantee Scheme.  Your money is safe with a maximum of €100,000 per person and per bank.  In general this only applies to your current account and your savings account. Investments are usually not covered. Please contact your bank for more information which accounts are covered.

If your bank has its main office in another country, the rules of that country apply when it comes to a Deposit Guarantee Scheme.  It is important to check if your bank has a Dutch licence or a licence from another country.  You can find an overview of all banks covered by the Dutch Deposit Guarantee Scheme on https://www.dnb.nl/en/supervision/public-register/WFTDG/index.jsp

iDEAL offers the possibility to make online payments in a reliable, secure and easy way. Payments can be made by using the mobile banking app or the online banking environment of your own bank. iDEAL is a direct online transfer from your bank account to the bank account of a company.

Acceptgiro’s (transaction forms) are a widely-accepted method of payment in the Netherlands and have been used by businesses and domestic users for decade. It is based on a paper acceptgiro form, which is made available by a creditor (usually a business), but nowadays it can be used for online banking too.

Bills are generally paid by bank transfer. You receive an invoice and an acceptgiro form from the company concerned, sometimes with the payment details already filled in. You add your signature and fill in the number of your bank account and mail the form back to your bank. You can also drop your acceptgiro directly in the dedicated letterbox at the bank. Most people are now using it via internet banking.

There has been a huge growth in the use of internetbankieren (internet banking). More than 70% of bank customers use internet banking and all Dutch banks offer this facility. Internet banking provides the benefit of being accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (although some banks may operate with time restrictions).

Not only the traditional banks offer internetbankieren, but there are also some banks without any physical offices that only offer banking via the Internet. Examples are Bunq and Knab. These banks are just as legal as any other Dutch bank.

Not only is internet banking easy for paying your regular monthly bills, but it offers the possibility to monitor and manage your own bank accounts. Transfers into and out of your personal or savings accounts, international transfers, and managing your investments are just a few of the many things you can do online.

In order to access your bank account details online, you will need to log in to your bank’s website using your electronic identifier provided by the bank and your debit (PIN) card. Follow the instructions which appear on the computer screen to log in.

Unlike in some other countries such as the US or UK, the facility to pay by credit card in shops, supermarkets and restaurants is less widely available in the Netherlands. This is because the retailer or restaurant is charged a fee by the credit card company. Hence, the Dutch tend to use their credit cards only for internet purchases, high value purchases and whilst travelling abroad to pay for items or to withdraw cash from cash machines.

Most banks now provide an app which can be downloaded to your smartphone or tablet. The banking app allows you to access your bank services via the Internet, such as to check your account balance and view your transaction history, as well as conveniently make payments and look up your receipts and payments. You can also find out the status of your investments, inform yourself of the latest financial news and stock market.

Several banks even have an app to pay back small loans very quickly. Tikkie, an initiative from ABNAMRO, is the most popular one. It is a free app for iPhone and Android to send payment requests using WhatsApp or text messages. You only need a smartphone and a Dutch bank account. Recipients don’t need to have the Tikkie app installed themselves.

Several banks offer the function to pay in shops using your smartphone. The systems used for these mobile payments require a special app that serves as a wallet. This is usually linked to your bank account, which allows your phone to serve as a debit card.

The wisselkoers (exchange rate) is fixed every day and will be posted wherever you exchange money. The rate does not vary from one company to the next, although the charge for exchanging money may differ. The most common place to exchange money is at GWK Travelex offices which can be found in all the major cities throughout the Netherlands (as well as Schiphol Airport). It is not possible to exchange foreign money at banks any more, as most branches do not handle cash other than to replenish their cash machines.

The Payment Services Directive (PSD) regulates payment services in the European Economic Area (EEA). Originally introduced in 2007, the revised version  that came into force in 2019 is known as PSD2.

The most important changes for consumers are:

• Webshops are allowed to charge additional costs for the payments, but only the costs that the webshop has to make for that payment. An exception has been made for credit cards. In addition it is allowed to charge extra costs to discourage use of inefficient payment methods.
• Access to your banking account by third parties. The bank must give third parties access to your bank account under the condition that you have given permission for that. This third party must have permission from the Dutch banking authority (De Nederlandse Bank) or a banking authority from another EU country. An example of this is a party that offers digital expenditure books. Such a company has direct access to all your banking accounts, even if you have accounts with several banks (if you give this company permission to have access to all your bank accounts). In such a way you can get a complete overview of your income and expenses.

The IBAN code, which stands for ‘International Bank Account Number’, has been introduced to standardise the identification of bank accounts within the European Union.  In the Netherlands, the IBAN reference number consists of your current bank account number preceded by the country code NL, a 2-digit control number and the (abbreviated) name of your bank. For example: NL89-BANK-0123-4567-89.

If you believe that you have lost your PIN card or had it stolen, then visit or call your bank right away. To find the telephone number to report a lost or stolen card, type on the search function of your bank’s website ‘verloren’ or ‘gestolen’. These contact numbers are usually available 24/7.