Secure payment transactions

The Dutch Central Bank (DNB) is responsible for secure and reliable payment systems. DNB issues euro banknotes in a European context.

Means of payment

All means of payment, such as bank transfers, giro collection forms and payments by direct debit must meet the regulations for SEPA, the Single Euro Payments Area. SEPA allows consumers and businesses to make and receive Euro payments across the European Union as easily as transactions are made currently within national borders, using IBAN (International Bank Account Number) and BIC (Business Identifier Code). As far as payments are concerned, you may decide yourself if you would like your clients to pay with cash, credit or debit card or online. However, you must inform your clients in a clear manner, for instance by using window stickers or through your website.

Genuine or forged?

There are 2 ways to check if a banknote is genuine or forged. You can do this by looking, tilting and feeling. Or by using detection equipment. If you believe that your cash register contains a forged banknote, you must immediately report this to the police. More tips can be found on the website Veiligbankieren.nl (Safe banking, in Dutch) and the European Central Bank (ECB).

Secure online payments

If you own a web shop, your customers must be able to make secure payments. They can do so via a secure internet connection. You have a secure internet connection if the address bar of your browser says 'https' instead of the usual 'http'. The letter 's' means 'secure'.