The Dutch Finance Ministry has drawn up plans that would require banks in the Netherlands that mainly offer banking services online to accept cash from customers. This would have the largest impact on small banks.
If the new legislation is implemented, forcing banks to offer the option to deposit cash, it would only apply to Dutch banks. Other European banks would be exempt. A bank is classified as Dutch if it has an office in the Netherlands and it uses Dutch IBAN numbers, so the new legislation could also apply to Dutch subsidiaries of European banks.
One such example of this is Revolut. The head of the Dutch arm of the Lithuanian bank, Francesco Aghemio, has warned that the possible regulations could have a “lengthy, negative impact on competition in the Dutch banking sector”.
A spokesperson for Bunq has also spoken out against the plans, saying that the new legislation would punish the development of technology. “This is exactly what we decided not to do,” said the spokesperson to the Financieele Dagblad. “We deliberately distance ourselves from the cash money infrastructure.”
The legislation would require banks to use a nationwide system for depositing money. The only company that offers this in the Netherlands is the official ATM brand for the country, Geldmaat, which was founded by ING, Rabobank and ABN AMRO. For people living and working in the Netherlands, this might sound like good news, as Geldmaat ATMs can be found near popular attractions and even in supermarkets in almost every Dutch city.
Aghemio told the Financieele Dagblad that online banks “are being forced to subsidise an elderly system which is run by the three biggest and most profitable banks in the country.” A Knab spokesperson agreed with this sentiment and said, “Geldmaat is not a neutral payment channel. It is in the hands of the three big banks which chose the fees between them.”
According to Geldmaat, “not one cent will go to our owners.” The banks will not have to pay extra to use Geldmaat’s services and would only need to pay the cost price. The Finance Ministry has also made changes to the legislation plans so that the small online banks would only have to accept notes and not coins.