ING and Volksbank have announced to stop supporting contactless payments through their own app. Customers can use Google Pay or Apple Pay instead. NSC MPs Six Dijkstra and Zeedijk are concerned about this, in part because of the dependence on U.S. companies Google and Apple.
Eelco Heinen, the finance minister, responded to the Parliamentary questions from the NSC members responded. He indicated that the Personal Data Authority (AP) monitors that parties comply with the legislation. He does not consider a general contactless payment protocol necessary.
Six Dijkstra and Zeedijk wondered about the impact on the privacy of Dutch citizens if their payment traffic runs through Google and Apple software. They wondered whether the data that the tech giants can collect with it will be monitored.
They also questioned the digital sovereignty of the Netherlands due to its dependence on large U.S. tech companies for contactless payments. They wondered whether an open contactless payment protocol at the Dutch or European level would offer a solution.
ING announced on its website that when Google Pay is used, Google receives information about the date and time of the payment, as well as the amount and name of the store. Customers reacted negatively to this development on X. Incidentally, ING and Volksbank are not the only banks to abandon their own app; other banks previously switched to Google Pay and Apple Pay.
Minister Heinen has since responded to the parliamentary questions. He reveals that companies offering their services in the Netherlands must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (AVG). The AP ensures that Google, Apple and Dutch banks actually do so.
He indicates that in the digital domain, dependence on parties outside the EU is increasing. At the same time, he does not always see this dependence as a problem. According to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), globally operating platforms are obliged to enable contactless payments outside their own wallets. This actually leads to more competition and freedom of choice, the minister said.
Heinen further indicated that consumers can also pay in other ways, such as with iDeal or with their bank card. He also pointed to the development of the digital euro, a means of payment based as much as possible on European parties and technologies. He therefore sees no need to develop a general contactless payment protocol for banks.
