Fintech 2026

NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Roderik Vrolijk, Rogier Raas, Ingrid Viertelhauzen and Maarten Weekenborg, Stibbe

2.15 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Standards The Dutch AML/CFT framework closely follows FATF standards. The Wwft is the Dutch implementation of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Directives (most recently AMLD5), which are themselves designed to align with the FATF Recommendations. In its 2022 mutual evaluation, FATF rated the Netherlands as “Compliant” or “Largely Compliant” on all 40 Recom - mendations and found that the country’s AML/CFT measures are delivering good results overall. The Dutch framework has several distinctive features. The transaction reporting system is built around “unu - sual” rather than “suspicious” transactions, with FIU- Netherlands filtering reports into formal suspicious designations. The Sanctions Act 1977 enables the Netherlands to maintain a national terrorism sanc - tions list and freeze assets domestically, independ - ent of UN or EU listings. In addition, since 1 January 2026, traders in goods may no longer accept cash payments of EUR3,000 or more, well below the EU- wide EUR10,000 limit that will apply under the AMLR from mid-2027. 2.16 Reverse Solicitation Dutch legal practice recognises the concept of reverse solicitation, which allows fintech companies duly authorised in another jurisdiction to offer other - wise regulated products and services to clients in the Netherlands without triggering local licensing require - ments. The reverse solicitation exception applies if the client has approached the fintech company entirely on its own exclusive initiative. This means that the fintech company or other persons acting on its behalf may not have engaged in any prior solicitation, promotion or marketing in the Netherlands. Whether the reverse solicitation exception applies must be assessed on a case-by-case basis, regard - less of whether the client is a new or existing client. The reverse solicitation exception is interpreted nar - rowly and is subject to close regulatory scrutiny, tak - ing into consideration all forms of communication, including online advertisements.

embedded financial services in addition to real-econ - omy product offerings. A notable trend is embedded insurance, where plat - forms bundle insurance into non-insurance purchase journeys. The AFM has taken an active interest in this area, publishing a dedicated report on customer pro - tection in embedded insurance and outlining when platforms require an AFM licence. Under the Dutch implementation of the Insurance Distribution Direc - tive (IDD), where insurance is ancillary to a good or service, the customer must be offered the option to purchase without the insurance. Non-regulated entities offering embedded insurance products frequently use specific exemptions, such as the ancillary insurance intermediary exemption or the tied intermediary model under the Wft. 2.14 Impact of AML and Sanctions Rules The Wwft is the primary Dutch Act concerning AML obligations, covering customer due diligence (CDD) and unusual transaction reporting. The Dutch Sanc - tions Act ( Sanctiewet 1977 ) obliges entities to screen against sanctions lists and freeze matched assets. Regulated fintech companies, including licensed pay - ment institutions, e-money institutions and crypto- asset service providers (CASPs), are directly subject to both Acts. DNB actively enforces compliance and has recently levied multiple fines, including on pay - ment institutions and a neobank for inadequate trans - action monitoring. Unregulated fintechs are not directly subject to the Wwft but face indirect impact. Regulated clients increasingly require AML due diligence from their technology vendors as part of outsourcing obligations under the Wft and DORA. The AML landscape will shift when the EU AML Package takes effect in July 2027. The Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) introduces a directly applicable EU-wide rulebook that will largely replace the Wwft’s substantive provisions, harmonising CDD requirements, suspicious transaction reporting and beneficial ownership obligations across member states.

571 CHAMBERS.COM