Pim Rank: Basic current account for entrepreneurs – out of the frying pan into the fire?
This column was originally written in Dutch. This is an English translation.
The Cash Payments Act of 20 May 2026 introduces a statutory right to a basic payment account for business entities. The question is whether this will genuinely benefit these business entities and whether it will unduly restrict the banks’ freedom of contract.
By Prof. Mr Pim Rank, Lawyer at NautaDutilh in Amsterdam and Professor of Financial Law at Leiden University
During the parliamentary debate on the Cash Payments Act, the adoption of the Flach et al. amendment resulted in a statutory right to a basic payment account for businesses, associations and foundations being incorporated into the Financial Supervision Act. A basic payment account is an account with a limited number of features. Such a statutory right has existed for consumers since 2014. However, it is precisely business entities that often struggle to gain access to the banking system. This applies in particular to businesses that handle large amounts of cash, such as the car trade, coffee shops and the ‘relax’ sector, but also to associations, foundations and foreign entities. Strict anti-money laundering rules mean that banks, as gatekeepers of the financial system, are reluctant to hold accounts for customers where they fear there may be integrity risks. In addition, a bank may also have policy or commercial reasons for excluding certain customers by invoking the principle of freedom of contract.
Only banks that offer current accounts to businesses in the Netherlands are obliged to allow the aforementioned parties to apply for and use a basic current account. These must be parties established in the EU and registered in the Dutch commercial register. This latter condition is intended to prevent parties who are unable to obtain a bank account in their own Member State from opening a basic payment account with a Dutch bank. The provision of the basic payment account must not be made conditional upon the compulsory purchase of other services or products. The basic payment account must be offered free of charge or for a reasonable fee. As with the regulations for consumers, the basic principle is that the bank may only refuse to open a basic payment account or terminate it if there is a specific ground for refusal or termination as set out in the law. Refusal or termination on other grounds is not permitted.
The question is whether the business parties in question will actually benefit from the new scheme. Whilst the basic principle is that a business party meeting the conditions is entitled to a basic payment account, this does not mean that obtaining such an account is an automatic process. The bank retains its gatekeeper role and, where appropriate, may – and in some cases must – invoke the grounds for refusal and termination set out in the Act to exclude a customer it deems undesirable. For example, a bank must refuse to open a basic payment account if it is unable to comply with anti-money laundering regulations, and it may refuse to do so if the customer cannot demonstrate an interest in opening a payment account in the Netherlands or already holds a payment account with another bank. Furthermore, a bank may terminate a basic current account if there has been a final conviction for certain criminal offences.
For banks, the exhaustive list of grounds for refusal and termination constitutes a restriction on their freedom of contract. For instance, non-compliance with the bank’s customer acceptance policy is not included among these grounds. This limits the bank’s ability to target certain sectors and could, in theory, mean that a sustainable bank is obliged to enter into a contract with a fossil fuel company.