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Experiences from the Dutch instant payment project: From 0 to 289 million in one year
Journal of Digital Banking,
5
(3),
240-254
(2021)
Abstract
In May 2015 the leading Dutch banks announced their ambition to offer instant payments (IP) to the Dutch market in four years. The complex and innovative programme, led by the Dutch Payments Association, delivered, in mid-2019, a new IP infrastructure that has now become one of the fastest growing IP environments, with over 289 million interbank IP transactions processed in its first year (April 2019–March 2020). This paper looks back on that period and focuses on the elements that, in our view, were important to the successful introduction of this new payments infrastructure. The challenges, dilemmas and the rationale for the decision of the Dutch banking community to organise the IP project are described. The journey towards achieving all the set goals by means of a clear joint effort from the Dutch payments community was intense and rewarding. IP is expected to become the new normal for SEPA payments in the years to come, provided that some hurdles to full interoperability and reachability in SEPA will be overcome. This paper aims to share insights that may be useful to other parties that are considering introducing IP or that want to push a similar transition from conventional credit transfers towards a 24/7 available, interbank IP backbone (See figure 1 for actual transaction volumes on this new IP backbone).
Keywords: instant payments; interbank project; payments infrastructure; Dutch Payments Association; Netherlands; De Nederlandsche Bank; real-time payments; ISO20022; faster payments; EPC; TIPS; ECB; EPC SCT Inst Rulebook; SEPA Credit Transfer
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Frans C. Van Beers is Head, Payments Product Management, at the Dutch Payments Association (Betaalvereniging Nederland), which organises the collective tasks in the national payment system. Its members are providers of payment services: banks, payment institutions and electronic money institutions. His activities focus on setting up and maintaining the (non-competitive) standards and collective services for payments in the areas of infrastructure, standards and shared product features. Frans was actively involved in the set-up and execution of the Dutch Instant Payments (IP) programme as one of the core project team members and lead of the product stream. Parallel to the national IP programme he contributed to the development of the European Payments Council (EPC) SCT Inst Rulebook, including the alignment with the developments in The Netherlands. From 1990 onwards he held various positions in payments IT operations and product development within ING and its predecessors. He was strategic and policy advisor at ING, covering a wide range of payments-related topics, focusing more and more on the interbank standards, alignment and governance. One of his last activities in that capacity was his participation in the set-up and execution of the national Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) programme from start to finish. He was with the Dutch Payments Association from its founding, in 2012. In addition to his leadership of the Payments Team, Frans chairs several interbank committees and is the Netherland’s representative in various EPC working groups.
Inge P. J. H. Van Dijk is currently Director, Payments & Market Infrastructure, at the Dutch Central Bank (DNB). As independent programme director, she led the Dutch Instant Payments programme on behalf of the Dutch Payments Association from the start of the programme, early 2015. After its succesful implementation mid 2019, she continued her work as an independent consultant in fintech and public transport sector, before joining the De Nederlandsche Bank (Dutch central bank). In her long career in the industry she has experienced the entire value chain, from payment service provider (PSP) to bank and from clearing house to scheme, covering both retail and wholesale, both cards and payments. She has been a member of the ECB TIPS Taskforce as well as the EBA Clearing working group Instant Payments. From 2015 until 2019 she led the Dutch IP programme on behalf of the Dutch Payments Association and the Dutch banks, launching it successfully to the market in early 2019. Before that she had worked for eight years for ING as Director, Payments & Cash Management, a.o. implementing SEPA across Europe and drafting ING’s global vision with regard to IP. Prior to ING, Inge had held various management positions in the cards and retail payments sector with equens (now equensWorldline) and with Eurocard (now Mastercard).
