Repayable funds

Factsheet
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The term 'repayable funds' is an important concept in determining whether your activities fall within the scope of the Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht - Wft). It is used in the definition of 'bank' and in the prohibition on inviting repayable funds, outside a restricted circle, from parties other than professional market operators.

Published: 01 January 2007

Definition of 'repayable funds' 

Section 1:1 of the Wft defines 'repayable funds' as funds that must be repaid at a certain point in time, for any reason whatsoever, and of which it is clear in advance what nominal amount must be repaid. Examples include borrowing money and issuing bonds. Funds raised by issuing shares are not repayable, as shares do not entail the obligation to repay the nominal amount.

Whether funds qualify as repayable is further specified in the Explanatory Memorandum to Section 3:5 of the Wft, which excludes a number of categories from the above definition of 'repayable funds'. Examples are:

  • paper vouchers and casino chips
  • advance payments on specific purchase transactions
  • postponement of payment for specific purchase transactions
  • funds given within the framework of a specific instruction for 'onward payment' (doorbetaling) to a third party.

However, if the period between the onward payment instruction and the third party's receipt of the funds exceeds five calendar days, the funds qualify as repayable funds.

For an exhaustive list and description of non-repayable funds categories, please see the aforesaid Explanatory Memorandum.

Applicable provisions 

Inviting repayable funds 'outside a restricted circle' and 'from parties other than professional market operators' is, in principle, prohibited under Section 3:5 of the Wft. In addition, doing so may constitute the pursuit of the business of a bank, which requires authorisation pursuant to Section 2:11 of the Wft. For a more detailed explanation, please see the related topic prohibition on inviting repayable funds and the term 'bank'.

Questions 

If you are in doubt as to whether repayable funds are being invited, we recommend that you consult an expert adviser. We will not process questions asked anonymously. If you wish to check whether your reasoned analysis is correct, please apply to:

De Nederlandsche Bank NV
Expert Centre on Market Access
PO Box 98
1000 AB Amsterdam

If you have any questions, please contact the DNB Information Desk on weekdays between 9:00 and 17:00 hours.
Telephone: 0800 020 1068 (freephone in the Netherlands).
E-mail: info@dnb.nl

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