Licence financial services provider

Do you provide financial services in the Netherlands? For example, you offer advice on financial products or provide credit (lend money). Then you must have a licence from the Authority Financial Markets (Authoriteit Financiële Markten, AFM) or the Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank, DNB).

You will only get a licence if your business is financially sound and meets the conditions of the Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht, Wft, in Dutch). The AFM and DNB check whether you comply with the rules. Is your company subject to the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA)? Then your licence application will be checked to see if you meet the requirements of DORA.

Licences for financial activities

Before you provide a financial service, you need to apply for a licence. You only get a licence if your business is financially sound and meets the conditions in the Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht, Wft). Your application is assessed by either the AFM, DNB, or both, depending on the type of financial activity (in Dutch).

When do you need to apply to AFM?

You must apply for a licence to AFM if you are:

• an investment firm
• an Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM)
• a collective investment scheme
• an issuer of securities
• an audit firm
• a provider of investment objects
• a crowdfunding platform (in Dutch)
• a crypto asset service provider (CASP)

When do you need to apply to DNB?

You have to apply for a licence to DNB if you are:

• an insurer
• a pension fund
• a payment institution
• an exchange institution
• a trust office
• a clearing and settlement institution

Requirements for applying as a financial service provider

You need to have a professional indemnity insurance (beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering, BAV) to apply. Your company needs to be financially healthy and should operate in accordance with the Law on financial monitoring (Wet financieel toezicht, Wft).

If you are granted a licence, your business conduct is supervised by the AFM. The Dutch Central Bank carries out prudential supervision to ensure financial stability of your financial institution.

Assessment of policymakers

Are you in charge of policy, a supervisory board member, or a co-policymaker at a financial institution? Persons who (co)determine the company policy must be trustworthy and suitable for the performance of their tasks. They must pass an assessment by the AFM or DNB in line with the Policy Rule on Suitability 2012 (Beleidsregel Geschiktheid 2012). This means your knowledge, competences, integrity, and professional conduct are assessed based on, among others, your education and experience.

Authorisation for a healthcare insurer

Are you an insurance provider and do you want to offer healthcare insurance? You must have authorisation from DNB and register with the Dutch Healthcare Authority (Nederlandse Zorgautoriteit, NZa) on top of your registration as an insurance provider. To do so you must submit a model agreement (in Dutch). The model agreement sets out the rights and obligations of both the insurer and the person insured. The NZa checks if the model agreement meets the requirements of the Healthcare Insurance Act.