Payment services agent

A payment services agent must have its own controls in place to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, and its policymakers must meet fit and proper requirements. A payment services agent’ notification involves submission of documentation demonstrating that these requirements are met.

As a payment services agent is a separate legal entity or natural person, notification is subject to extensive requirements. To obtain notification for a payment service agent, the institution must submit a request to DNB, submitting the required information (Section 42a(c) of the Decree on Market Access of Financial Undertakings under the Wft (Besluit Markttoegang financiële ondernemingen Wft - BMfo). The request is made by completing the notification form and submitting additional details to DNB.

We have prepared a Q&A on providing information to DNB. If the information provided is insufficient, we will inform the payment institution accordingly. A consideration period of one month commences as soon as we are satisfied that all requisite data have been provided. Within that period, the supervisory authority of the host Member State may respond to the notification of the agent’s planned activities. If the competent authorities of the host Member State have reason to suspect that a risk of money laundering or terrorist financing would or might arise from the activities of the payment services agent, we may decline to enter the agent's name in the public register. After the consideration period, we will enter the payment services agent in the appropriate register. From that moment, the payment services agent may provide services in the other Member State

The payment service agent is subject to ongoing supervision by DNB. An institution may designate a central point of contact in the Netherlands which ensures compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en terrorismefinanciering – Wwft) and submits the information required by DNB under this Act on its behalf. In such a case, our supervision is through this point of contact.

We may conduct our supervision in collaboration with the host competent authority. The latter is responsible for supervision of compliance with local laws against money laundering and terrorist financing.

Notifications and specific questions regarding notification may be submitted through MyDNB.

Competent authorities from different Member States provide the European Banking Authority (EBA) with the names of payment service agents, which the EBA publishes in a public register: EUCLID - Register. Agents of payment service providers domiciled in another Member State and active in the Netherlands are registered in the home Member State of the payment service provider and are included in the EBA register.