Profitability of Payments in the Netherlands

The Dutch Payments Association has issued a report, ‘Study into the Costs and Revenues of Payment Services for Financial Institutions 2021’. This is a follow up on a 2005 study. It found that the payment system is efficient and user fees are lower than the European average. Transaction volumes have more than doubled and processing fees increased by 5%.

In contrast, banks lost €570 million on payments in 2021. In 2005 the loss was €23 million. The loss is driven primarily by a reduction in net interest revenues and an increase in risk management and compliance costs.

The Dutch National Bank and the Dutch Payments Association estimate that there are 1.16 billion cash transactions which take place outside of the payment system, ie. excluding withdrawals and deposits. In 2021 there were 421,000 point-of-sale terminals, 4,920 ATMs and 730 bank branches. There were 4.705 billion card payments (47%) and 5,087 billion transfer payments (51%), 140 million cash withdrawals and despots (1%) and 6 million non-SEPA payments.