NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Roderik Vrolijk, Rogier Raas, Ingrid Viertelhauzen and Maarten Weekenborg, Stibbe
ment processing infrastructure for both SMEs and large enterprises. Neobanks like Bunq and Knab offer fully digital banking services, competing directly with incumbents. Mobile wallets and contactless payment solutions have achieved widespread adoption among Dutch consumers. Lending and Alternative Finance Fintech lending platforms – including Mogelijk, New10 and Bridgefund – primarily serve SMEs with automat - ed credit assessment processes and faster decision- making than traditional banks. Crowdfunding service providers operate under the EU Crowdfunding Regu - lation. Buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) and instalment payment models have also gained significant traction, particu - larly in the e-commerce space. Their business models will be impacted by the entry into force of the Con - sumer Credit Directive II (CCD II). Embedded Finance Embedded finance is a rapidly growing vertical in which non-financial platforms integrate licensed finan - cial services – such as insurance, credit or payments – into their customer journeys. Insurtech firms lever - age AI and data analytics to personalise insurance products and streamline claims processing. Regtech, Wealth Tech and Crypto-Assets Regtech solutions (eg, Fourthline or Duna) help finan - cial institutions manage compliance obligations more efficiently, particularly in the areas of AML, transaction monitoring and regulatory reporting. Robo-advisers and digital investment platforms have broadened access to wealth management (eg, Semmie). Crypto- asset service providers, now subject to MiCAR licens - ing, represent a further distinct vertical. 2.2 Regulatory Regime The Dutch Financial Supervision Act There is no standalone regulatory regime for fintech in the Netherlands. Instead, fintech firms are regulated based on the type of financial service they provide. The principal legislative framework is the Dutch Finan - cial Supervision Act ( Wet op het financieel toezicht , Wft), a comprehensive statute also implementing EU financial services directives and setting national
requirements for licensing, governance, conduct and prudential supervision. Licence Types Relevant to Fintech Depending on the services offered, fintech firms may require one or more of the following licences or regis - trations under the Wft: • banking licence (supervised by DNB or the Europe - an Central Bank (ECB) (for significant institutions)) for deposit-taking and lending activities; • payment institution or electronic money institution licence (DNB) for payment services or e-money issuance; • investment firm licence (AFM) for investment ser - vices under MiFID II; • alternative investment fund manager licence (AFM) for fund management activities; • crypto-asset service provider (CASP) licence (AFM) under MiCAR; and • crowdfunding service provider authorisation (AFM) under the EU Crowdfunding Regulation. Relevant EU Regulatory Developments In addition to MiCAR and DORA (discussed above), several forthcoming EU instruments are expected to impact the Dutch fintech sector. • The revised Payment Services Directive (PSD3) and the Payment Services Regulation (PSR) will revise the framework for payment services. • The proposed Financial Data Access Regulation (FiDA) aims to broaden data-sharing beyond pay - ment accounts to cover insurance, mortgages and investment data. • The CCD II must be transposed into Dutch law in 2026. • The AIFMD II implementation is due by April 2026. 2.3 Compensation Models Fee-Based Models Fintech firms in the Netherlands employ various com - pensation models, the permissibility of which depends on the regulatory framework applicable to the specific service. Common models include transaction-based fees (per payment or per trade), subscription or tiered pricing for platform access, interest margins on lend -
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