ANNUAL REPORT 2018

Amsterdam, May 2019

- 1 - Annual Report 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CURRENCE PROFILE ...... 3 ORGANISATION & KEY FIGURES 2017 ...... 4 BOARD MEMBERS ...... 4 CURRENCE HOLDING B.V. AND SUBSIDIARIES ...... 4 iDEAL LICENSEES AND CERTIFICATE HOLDERS ...... 5 ACCEPTGIRO LICENSEES AND CERTIFICATE HOLDERS ...... 5 eMANDATES LICENSEES AND CERTIFICATE HOLDERS ...... 5 iDIN LICENSEES AND CERTIFICATE HOLDERS ...... 5 KEY FIGURES iDEAL ...... 6 KEY FIGURES ACCEPTGIRO ...... 6 KEY FIGURES eMANDATES ...... 7 KEY FIGURES iDIN ...... 7 REPORT FROM THE SUPERVISORY BOARD ...... 8 REPORT FROM THE EXECUTIVE BOARD ...... 10 GENERAL DEVELOPMENTS ...... 10 CURRENCE PRODUCTS ...... 11 FINANCIAL RISKS ...... 12 2018 RESULTS AND OUTLOOK FOR 2019 ...... 13 CURRENCE PRODUCTS ...... 13 iDEAL: MILESTONE AFTER MILESTONE ...... 14 iDIN: ONLINE LOGIN, IDENTIFICATION AND AGE CONFIRMATION ...... 24 eMANDATES: ISSUING VALID ONLINE MANDATES FOR DIRECT DEBIT ...... 30 ACCEPTGIRO: DECLINE CONTINUES UNABATED 31 EXPLANATION OF THE STRUCTURE, ORGANISATION AND GOVERNANCE OF THE COMPANY ...... 33 STRUCTURE ...... 33 ORGANISATION ...... 34 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ...... 34

- 2 - Annual Report 2018 CURRENCE PROFILE

Currence is the owner of the Dutch uniform payment products iDEAL, Acceptgiro, eMandates and iDIN.

Currence’s aim is to facilitate competition and increase transparency in uniform payment systems in the Netherlands, while maintaining high standards of quality, efficiency and security of the uniform payment products.

In dialogue with all interested parties, Currence sets objective rules for its payment products. It issues licences and certificates to established players in the market and new market entrants that comply with these rules and wish to offer Currence payment products in the market or to provide support services. To ensure the quality and security of its products, Currence supervises market parties’ compliance with its rules and regulations. It also works closely with all interested parties to prevent fraud. Currence provides public information and brand promotion, also based on market research, and positions its payment products as secure, convenient and efficient.

The payments market is a dynamic one. The pace of internationalisation and technological development is high. Changing markets and customer requirements are the basis for the policy and the further development of Currence payment products. The establishment of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) has resulted in outdated national products being largely replaced by European variants. The development of new payment methods has also led to the introduction of new national products.

Currence is an autonomous organisation with governance that ensures its independence. Currence was formed in 2005 as a result of an initiative by eight Dutch banks, prompted in part by the recommendations of the Wellink Commission in 2002 to promote greater transparency and competition in payments. The formation of Currence created a new market model in Dutch payments, in which product ownership and regulation are separated from transaction processing.

- 3 - Annual Report 2018 ORGANISATION & KEY F IGURES 2018

BOARD MEMBERS

Executive Board Drs Piet M. Mallekoote

Supervisory Board Name born function appointed steps down Mr Rien 1956 Former member of the Executive Board of 2018 2022 Hinssen SNS REAAL Drs Sjors 1959 CFO Royal Fruitmasters Group 2015 2019 Kruiper

CURRENCE HOLDING B.V. AND SUBSIDIARIES

* * Since 2017 iDIN BV has been taken over by Currence Holding B.V.

- 4 - Annual Report 2018

IDEAL LICENSEES AND CERTIFICATE HOLDERS* Institutions 2017 2018 iDEAL Licensees 19 23 iDEAL Certificate Holders 60 60

ACCEPTGIRO LICENSEES AND CERTIFICATE HOLDERS

Institutions 2017 2018 Acceptgiro Licensees 16 16 Acceptgiro Debit Processors 4 4 Acceptgiro Credit Processors 3 3 Clearing House Acceptgiro 2 2 Acceptgiro Printers 20 20 Acceptgiro Service Bureaus (printed) 245 228 Acceptgiro Service Bureaus (digital) 16 16

EMANDATES LICENSEES AND CERTIFICATE HOLDERS

Institutions 2017 2018 eMandates Licensees 8 14 eMandates Certificate Holders 1 1 eMandates Accredited Parties 30 29

IDIN LICENSEES AND CERTIFICATE HOLDERS

Institutions 2017 2018 iDIN Licensees 11 11 iDIN Certificate Holders 3 7

* Licences per role. A Licensee can perform multiple licensing roles.

- 5 - Annual Report 2018 KEY FIGURES IDEAL

KEY FIGURES ACCEPTGIRO

- 6 - Annual Report 2018 KEY FIGURES EMANDATES

KEY FIGURES IDIN

- 7 - Annual Report 2018 REPORT FROM THE SUPERVISO RY BOARD

The Supervisory Board advises the Executive Board and monitors its policies in the interests of the company and the individual payment product companies. In this regard, the Supervisory Board takes into account the interests of all stakeholders.

The Supervisory Board met on five occasions in 2018. In the year under review, the Board was intensively involved in a multitude of matters in both its supervisory and advisory capacities. During the meetings, the Board focused its attention on the legislation and regulations for the European payment market and the consequences of these for Currence’s products. The strategy for iDEAL was also discussed in this context. Moreover, particular attention was devoted to the market position and further development of iDIN. The Supervisory Board has paid distinct attention to the Corporate Governance Code with reference to the governance of Currence, although Currence does not fall within the scope of the Code. The Supervisory Board endorses the aims of the Code, and Currence follows the principles of the Code to the extent that they apply to its situation.

The Supervisory Board looks back on the period under review with satisfaction. It is noted that the activities in the annual plan have been realised and that Currence, never losing sight of the cost aspect, has operated within its budget.

We hereby present to the AGM the company’s annual accounts for the financial year running from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018.

The annual accounts were prepared by the Executive Board and, following an audit by BDO Audit & Assurance B.V, discussed by us with the Executive Board. We request the AGM to adopt the annual accounts in accordance with the Executive Board’s proposal.

The result, excluding participating interests, is nil. In accordance with the Executive Board’s proposal and based on the provisions of the Articles of Association, we recommend that no allocation of profits and losses take place.

The results from Acceptgiro B.V. will be added to the Other Reserves of the company.

The results from Currence Incassomachtigen B.V. and iDIN B.V. will be charged to Other Reserves. The relevant ‘lettered’ shareholders will be asked to contribute an additional deposit, in proportion to their interest in the company.

A further proposal to the AGM of Currence Holding B.V. is that the dividend of €1,467,000 issued by Currence iDEAL B.V. be added to the Dividend Reserve F that has been created for this purpose and that this amount, subject to dividend tax where applicable, be paid out to the shareholders concerned.

- 8 - Annual Report 2018 The Supervisory Board would like to express its appreciation for the way in which the Executive Board and the staff have carried out their work.

We request that the AGM discharge the Executive Board from liability for conduct of the company’s affairs in 2018 and the Supervisory Board for the supervision exercised.

Amsterdam, 24 April 2019 On behalf of the Supervisory Board, Rien Hinssen, Chairman

- 9 - Annual Report 2018 REPORT FROM THE EXEC UTIVE BOARD

GENERAL DEVELOPMENTS

The European payment system remained extremely active in 2018. The implementation of new legislation and regulations and the consequences for the payment market, and the technological developments and related changes in supply and demand factors were central to this. By the end of 2018, almost all countries in Europe had completed implementing the revised European Payments Services Directive 2 (PSD2) in their national legislation (the Netherlands followed on 20 February 2019). The related technical regulatory standards for secure access to bank accounts by duly authorised third parties will come into effect on 14 September 2019. From that date onwards, banks will be obliged to grant access to these third parties. The purpose of this is to allow these parties to initiate payments on behalf of account holders and retrieve payment data to facilitate providing customer service. The banks and prospective third parties have been busy in 2018 preparing for the new situation. This activity was reflected in European-level consultations and international congresses, in which we were present as speakers or audience. Providers and users analysed the potential market impact of payment and information services and presented specific, planned applications. The primary focus was on creating new services or improving existing ones. The PSD2 aims to promote innovation and competition in the payment market. However, there is a risk of fragmentation of new services if parties do not cooperate sufficiently with one another. There is also a risk of that the intended goals will not be fully or sufficiently achieved. In this respect, iDEAL serves as an example of how things can be done properly. Within the iDEAL scheme (a uniform set of agreements), banking and non-banking payment service providers have been working together for many years, while competing with one another at the same time. New entrants are able to benefit immediately from the wide reach of iDEAL that has been built up jointly by all parties over the years. This also applies to other, similar schemes. It pays to collaborate. The implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation was also a focus area in the year under review, both in the social debate as well as in the press. The Regulation entered into force on 25 May. Companies and institutions with access to personal data realised the need of adequately protecting these data, the urgency of which was further emphasised by the possibility of data breaches caused by cyberattacks. In an economy that is becoming increasingly digitised, it is very important that online service providers secure their access channels via sufficiently secure and reliable systems. For consumers, it is useful to have a

- 10 - Annual Report 2018 widely usable means of identification and authentication that is secure, reliable and user- friendly. In many countries, banks play a key role in providing access to the online economy. Here, too, it is important that parties collaborate with one another within an agreement framework, in order to realise a broad-based national or international usability. With the introduction of iDIN, banks have fulfilled their social responsibility with respect to reducing fraud and removing the barriers to further digitisation. Although the use of iDIN increased sharply in 2018, it must be noted that the continuing digitisation is not yet sufficiently reflected in an increased use of a reliable digital means of identification. As a result, there are risks in the areas of security and privacy. The government can serve as an example in this respect by demonstrating more urgency in the use of sufficiently reliable means of identification in the public domain and by seeking cooperation with the private sector to bring this about. Furthermore, in 2018, Europe focused on accelerating the settlement of payments through Instant Payments. With Instant Payments, a transfer is immediately debited from the payer’s account and credited directly to the beneficiary account. This happens 24 hours per day and 365 days per year. By the end of 2018, approximately 50% of all banks had registered with the European Payments Council for using this new service. The banks in the Netherlands did a lot of work in 2018 under the supervision of the Dutch Payments Association to set up infrastructure to make this possible. Instant Payments will become the standard in the first half of 2019 for payments via mobile banking apps and internet banking in the Netherlands. iDEAL will also switch over to Instant Payments in due course.

CURRENCE PRODUCTS

Three of the four Currence products achieved good growth rates in 2018. For iDEAL, 2018 was the year in which mobile iDEAL payments between consumers (iDEAL C2C) made a definitive breakthrough. 2018 was also the year in which efforts were undertaken to increase the number of merchants and iDIN brand awareness, and the number of merchants using eMandates increased by 54 percent. As expected, the use of the paper Acceptgiro forms, Currence’s fourth brand, declined further in 2018.

IDEAL USED MORE THAN 2 BILLION TIMES

The importance of iDEAL within the payment system continued to grow over the past year. The number of payments increased by more than 38%, a post-2010 record. The use of iDEAL abroad also continued to increase. For the first time, more than half a billion iDEAL payments were made within one year (524 million). At the beginning of November, we reached the milestone of 2 billion cumulative iDEAL payments since the launch in 2005. In 2018, iDEAL payments via a tablet or smartphone continued to rise: in the previous reporting year, for the

- 11 - Annual Report 2018 first time, more iDEAL payments were made on a tablet or smartphone than on a laptop or desktop; by the end of 2017, 54.8 percent of all iDEAL payments were being made via a mobile banking app. A year later, the share of mobile iDEAL payments went up to 69.5 percent. This is partly due to the rapidly increasing popularity of mobile payments between consumers. In December 2018, no less than 17.5 percent of all iDEAL payments were accounted for by such C2C payments, mainly via payment requests made with Tikkie and other mobile banking apps. In 2018, iDEAL geared itself further for the future. An Application Programming Interface (API) has been developed and is ready for use by Licensees.

IDIN AND EMANDATES iDIN and eMandates have been developed based on the proven technology that drives iDEAL. iDIN allows consumers to log in securely and reliably to their bank account or to identify themselves online via their bank to other organisations. iDIN was launched at the end of 2016 and, by the end of 2018, consumers could use it to log in or identify themselves to more than 100 organisations. There were 322,000 iDIN transactions in December 2018, whereas only 72,000 such transactions took place in December 2017. Although this increase is encouraging, it is still too limited for iDIN to play a relevant role as a widely-used and trusted service for identification and login. In 2019, iDIN will focus more on the login aspect, with the aim of serving a wide range of online businesses and institutions. Consumer customers usually use iDIN as part of their bank’s service package. Nothing extra is needed for this. Since bank customers are now increasingly managing their affairs via their smartphone or tablet rather than on a laptop or desktop, iDIN is being supported by more and more mobile banking apps. iDIN’s aim as a trusted service is to contribute substantially to ensuring secure and reliable access to the online services of companies and institutions and so to support the further digitisation of the Dutch economy, which is one of the spearheads of government policy. eMandates allow consumers and companies to issue online authorisations for direct debits via their own bank, easily and without any errors. These authorisations are recognised by all banks. Nearly 483,000 eMandates were issued in 2018, which is 73 percent more than in the previous year. Although Currence is pleased with this increase, the level of usage - from an economic point of view - is still too low. Many payees continue to offer direct debits via a checkbox to be ‘ticked’. As a result, businesses run the risk of Incorrect Direct Debit Reports succeeding, with the result that the amount may have to be returned to the payer at any time during a 13-month period. In the case of eMandates, this risk is limited to eight weeks.

- 12 - Annual Report 2018 USE OF ACCEPTGIRO CONTINUES TO DECLINE

In 2018, only 11 million paper Acceptgiro forms were processed, which is 3.5 million fewer than in 2017. More than 9 out of 10 of the Acceptgiro forms sent are discarded after the recipient has entered them in the mobile or internet banking system. Therefore, the banks and the Dutch Payments Association have developed an easy alternative: a Payment Instruction on which an iDEAL QR code can be printed. Recipients of a Payment Instruction can scan the QR code with their smartphone or tablet and pay invoices quickly, easily, flawlessly and securely. Even those who do not use mobile banking can enter the payment details indicated on the Payment Instruction in the internet banking system or make the transfer via a paper Acceptgiro form.

FINANCIAL RISKS

Currence has limited exposure to financial risks. As far as liquidity risk is concerned, Currence ensures that it has a fixed amount of permanently available assets at its disposal. Since Currence’s Licensees and Certificate Holders are banks and payment institutions, the credit risk is limited.

2018 RESULTS AND OUTLOOK FOR 2019

Currence’s consolidated annual accounts include the financial data of Currence Holding BV and its group companies. The financial policy is aimed at achieving cost efficiency. Currence has a limited profit objective. Its policy is essentially aimed at ensuring continuity and it operates within the competition law frameworks. Currence achieved a net result of 0.4 million euros in the year under review, partly due to a further reduction of the iDEAL rate (by 25%) and the start-up losses of iDIN. The consolidated balance sheet total amounted to 15 million euros, while shareholders’ equity was 12.2 million euros at the end of 2018. The financial policy of previous years will be continued in 2019, with cost efficiency as the starting point.

Amsterdam, 24 April 2019

Piet Mallekoote CEO

- 13 - Annual Report 2018 CURRENCE PRODUCTS

IDEAL: MILESTONE AFTER MILESTONE

The total number of iDEAL transactions in the past year increased by 38.5 percent to 523.8 million payments (graph). This represents an unprecedented rate of growth. In 2018, the approximately 10.8 million iDEAL users paid almost once a week on average with iDEAL.

In November, iDEAL exceeded the milestone of two billion cumulative payments since its launch on 4 October 2005. To celebrate this achievement, iDEAL donated food packages to the food banks. This gesture gave rise to enthusiastic responses and positive media attention.

It took more than 10 years from the launch to reach the milestone of a billion iDEAL transactions. That was in 2016. Yet, just two years later, the 2-billion payment limit has been exceeded. iDEAL and its Licensees and Certificate Holders are very pleased with this exceptional success.

iDEAL turnover increased by 29.6 percent to a total of more than 43 billion euros. The average transaction amount increased every year up to 2017. In 2018, the average amount decreased for the first time (from €87.59 to €81.94). This is due to the increasing popularity of payments between consumers (C2C1payments), where average amounts are lower. The

1 C2C stands for Consumer to Consumer

- 14 - Annual Report 2018 share of C2C payments in the total number of iDEAL payments increased from 4.3 percent in 2017 to 14.2 percent in 2018. iDEAL is used as a payment instrument in a variety of segments: in e-commerce (in the Netherlands and abroad), for payments between consumers (C2C) and for consumer payments falling outside the e-commerce domain. This last category (‘other’) forms the largest segment of all iDEAL payments (44 percent of payments, 50 percent of the turnover, see diagram). This includes transactions such as the payment of invoices, purchase of games, topping-up of calling credit and donations.

IDEAL IN DUTCH E-COMMERCE

The Dutch economy continued to grow in 2018. It is true that, when measured based on the gross domestic product, the rate of growth was less than in 2017 (2.7 percent versus 3.7 percent). However, Dutch consumers spent more in 2018 (2.1 percent in 2018, compared to 1.6 percent in 2017). They did this by buying more cars and electronic devices (audio, video, computers, telephones, etc.). They also spent more on services such as hospitality, transport and communication (source: Statistics Netherlands). The ING Economics Bureau2 has calculated a growth of 3.3 percent in retail sector turnover (physical and online) in 2018. Here, what stands out is the growth in sales of online stores (12.2 percent), while the physical retail trade is experiencing difficulties. It is notable that online stores that also have a physical location grew faster than purely online stores.

A survey of online consumer expenditure conducted by Thuiswinkel.org revealed that, in 2018, Dutch consumers made almost 242 million purchases online, for a total of 23.7 billion euros. This accounts for approximately a quarter of the retail turnover via online channels.

The vast majority of online purchases at Dutch online stores are paid for using iDEAL. So iDEAL, just like the other payment methods, has benefitted from the developments described above. In 2018, iDEAL's market share in the e-commerce segment was 59 percent. iDEAL enjoys a high acceptance rate: in 2018, it was possible to pay using iDEAL at three quarters of all online stores. Almost all large online stores accept iDEAL payments3.

2 https://www.ing.nl/zakelijk/kennis-over-de-economie/uw-sector/outlook/detailhandel.html 3 Additional information to be read in the Infographic payment methods online stores of the Dutch Payment Association: https://www.betaalvereniging.nl/wp-content/uploads/Infographic- Betaalmogelijkheden-webwinkels.pdf

- 15 - Annual Report 2018

Source: E-commerce Payment Monitor 2018, GfK, Thuiswinkel.org and iDEAL

iDEAL is not just the payment instrument with the greatest market share but, according to Emerce, it is also the most highly rated online payment instrument4. iDEAL scores high not only at Emerce, but also in the MT Top 1000. The brand occupies second place on the list of the best business service providers of 20185.

MORE ONLINE STORES IN THE NETHERLANDS

The number of online stores continues to grow. Based on figures provided by Statistics Netherlands6, there were 39,070 online stores at the end of 2018. This represents an increase of 6.4 percent compared to 2017. Studies by iDEAL show that a Dutch online store offers, on average, 3.7 payment methods. This has remained almost the same as in 2017. Among members of Thuiswinkel.org this number is 5.97.

4 https://www.emerce.nl/nieuws/emerce-100-beste-bedrijven-ebusiness-2018 5 https://www.mt.nl/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/008-011_MTNL08_Lijst-1.pdf

6 https://statline.cbs.nl/Statweb/publication/?DM=SLNL&PA=81589ned&D1=0&D2=868-876&D3=36- 47&HDR=G2,T&STB=G1&VW=T 7 Payment options at online stores 2018 (Betaalmogelijkheden webwinkels 2017 ), survey conducted by the Boom Marktverkenningen company on behalf of Currence

- 16 - Annual Report 2018 IDEAL IN E-COMMERCE ABROAD iDEAL is indispensable for foreign online stores that want to serve Dutch customers. The leading chains AliExpress and Asos (2016) and Google and Amazon (2017) have successfully added iDEAL to their online checkout system. In 2018, Apple and Microsoft also became iDEAL merchants. The fact that Dutch consumers are making more and more purchases from these foreign merchants is also apparent from the increased use of iDEAL during the popular ‘Singles Day’ in China. Singles Day was on 11 November in 2018 and iDEAL transactions increased by more than 50 percent as compared to Singles Day 2017. Many of the additional Singles Day iDEAL payments took place via the Chinese internet giant AliExpress.

In 2018, 83.7 million iDEAL payments were made via foreign websites. With this, the share of iDEAL payments via foreign websites amounted to 16 percent. In 2018, there were a total of 16,647 foreign online stores that accepted iDEAL. This is a growth of 137 percent compared to the 7,028 online stores in 2017. UNCTAD8 publishes an E-commerce Index each year, where it ranks 151 countries. In 2018, UNCTAD declared the Netherlands as the e-commerce ‘world champion’. The positive e- commerce environment in the Netherlands has already led to various foreign online stores adding our country - as one of the first countries in Europe - to their service area and therefore offering iDEAL as a payment product. This high ranking on the UNCTAD E- commerce Index creates positive expectations for the coming years.

2018 Country % % 15+ with Secure Reliability of 2017 ranking internet an account internet delivery ranking usage servers 1 Netherlands 95 100 100 90 4 2 Singapore 84 98 98 100 18 3 Switzerland 94 98 94 94 2 4 United Kingdom 95 96 90 96 6 5 Norway 98 100 87 90 3 6 Iceland 98 99 98 78 11 7 Ireland 81 95 95 100 19 8 Sweden 96 100 86 89 7 9 New Zealand 88 99 87 96 10 10 Denmark 97 100 96 74 13

8 UNCTAD B2C E‐commerce Index 2017

- 17 - Annual Report 2018 BLACK FRIDAY BROKE ALL RECORDS

In the United States, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. It is regarded as the start of the Christmas shopping season. Many stores advertise special Black Friday offers to attract shoppers. This discount festival has also been widely adopted by the e-commerce sector in the Netherlands, with Bol.com, MediaMarkt and Zalando leading the way. In 2018, Black Friday fell on 23 November. With almost 3.6 million payments on that day, iDEAL enjoyed a record day of sales. This was an increase of 50 percent compared to Black Friday in 2017. From 6 pm to 7 pm, there were on average 69 payments per second. That too was a record, since there are usually about 41 payments per second on Fridays. The graph below shows the number of transactions per hour on Black Friday compared to a ‘normal’ Friday, i.e. 26 October 2018.

In 2019, Black Friday falls on 22 November and Currence expects a dramatic peak on this day as well.

IDEAL C2C: A MAJOR NEW APPLICATION

In 2016, market parties introduced a new iDEAL application for C2C payments. This application allows consumers to send each other a payment request via a digital channel (WhatsApp, email or text messages). Consumers receiving such a request can pay the amount easily via their bank using iDEAL. Currently, various market parties facilitate the use of this application, including ING, Tikkie from ABN AMRO, Rabobank, bunq, Online Payment Platform and all de Volksbank labels. In 2018, the number of times that iDEAL was used for C2C payments increased sharply: from 16.4 million times to 74.2 million. That is 14 percent of the total number of iDEAL payments made in 2018. We also observed an increase in the number of C2C payments in the course of the year: at the end of 2018, the share of C2C payments in the total number of

- 18 - Annual Report 2018 payments amounted to 17.5 percent. Based on this, C2C payments in 2019 are also expected to contribute to the further growth of iDEAL.

In total, almost 2.7 billion euros changed hands in the C2C segment. The average transaction amount was €35.71, which is considerably lower than that of a ‘normal’ (non- C2C) iDEAL payment (€89.58). As a result, the average amount of an iDEAL payment in 2018 decreased to €81.94.

IDEAL OUTSIDE E-COMMERCE

Although originally developed as a payment instrument in the e-commerce segment, the use of iDEAL in other sectors has also gained further ground over the years. Currently, 58 percent of the transaction volume is generated outside e-commerce (44 percent ‘other’ and 14 percent in the C2C segment). Virtually every online organisation that wants its customers to make payments offers iDEAL as a payment option, because that will allow all online banking customers (12.4 million) to make payments. The applications are endless: paying a fine at the Central Judicial Collection Agency (CJIB), topping up your Apple ID credit, donating to your favourite charity, paying your taxes, paying your healthcare provider’s bill, paying for parking, topping up your game credit, etc.

The fact that iDEAL effectively adds value in other segments is demonstrated, for example, in a survey carried out by Stuurjerekening.nl9 in April 2018. A digital invoice allowing direct payment using iDEAL, via an iDEAL link, is paid on average after six days. Almost 70 percent of such invoices are even paid within 24 hours. Considering that in the Netherlands, on average, an invoice remains outstanding for as much as 36 days, iDEAL is a big advantage for the payee. With the launch of the iDEAL QR code, Currence is also responding to this segment.

OTHER IDEAL DEVELOPMENTS iDEAL Mobile surpasses payments via desktop and laptop According to the Thuiswinkel Markt Monitor, 59 percent of online buyers made at least one purchase on a mobile device (tablet or smartphone) in the fourth quarter of 2018. The main criterion for iDEAL Mobile is that the payment must be completed in a mobile banking app. By now, most banks offer the option of transferring - via a QR code - a payment initiated on a laptop or desktop to the mobile banking app for authorisation. As a result, the percentage of iDEAL transactions paid via a mobile banking app has risen significantly. In 2018, the share of iDEAL transactions in the total number of transactions increased from 55 percent at the start of the year to almost 70 percent in December.

The advantage for the payer is that these mobile payments can be completed without the use of a debit card, login details (user name and password) or a device for generating a one- off code. This makes it more easy and convenient for the user, which is also reflected in the

9 https://mkbbelangen.nl/algemeen/onderzoek-facturen-met-ideal-link-6x-sneller-betaald/

- 19 - Annual Report 2018 success rate of iDEAL mobile transactions: at over 92 percent, this is more than 5 percent higher than the average success rate.

USE OF IDEAL QR STILL LIMITED iDEAL QR has been developed so that iDEAL can also be used in offline environments. This is important in view of omni-channel developments. The payment can be quickly completed simply by scanning the iDEAL QR code with a smartphone or tablet. It is just as fast, secure and reliable as regular iDEAL mobile payments.

With iDEAL QR, consumers can easily pay their invoices without needing to use Acceptgiro forms. Or they can pay with iDEAL while on the move, for example, for tickets offered on an advertising column. The advantage for businesses is that they can offer an additional payment instrument, especially at locations where electronic modes of payment are not available. Moreover, the conversion rate with iDEAL QR is higher and the merchant remains in control of the entire ‘customer journey’, since the customer no longer has to be redirected to the bank’s iDEAL payment pages. iDEAL QR was made available to Licensees in 2017 and they have been able to offer this facility to their business contacts since that time.

However, only a limited number of consumers were using iDEAL QR in 2018. This is because the integration of the iDEAL QR scan functionality in mobile banking apps has been delayed in the case of a number of banks. Although consumers can download the iDEAL app for this, this is not very user-friendly. That is why it has been agreed with Licensees to implement the scan functionality in the mobile banking app. Knab was the first bank to implement this in 2017. Rabobank soon followed suit with its mobile banking app and the Rabo Wallet. Other banks were also expected to add the iDEAL QR scanner to their mobile banking apps in 2018. However, this is taking longer than planned. ING and ABN AMRO Bank are expected to have the scanner operational in the first half of 2019. Once this is done, a substantial number of consumers can start using the iDEAL QR scan functionality in the mobile banking app. In anticipation of this, and in order to facilitate the use of the iDEAL QR functionality, iDEAL modified its iDEAL QR landing page at the end of 2018. When consumers scan an iDEAL QR code with a generic QR scanner or the iOS camera app, they are directed to this landing page. Here, if they choose to initiate the iDEAL QR payment, they are automatically redirected to their mobile banking app. In this way, all consumers with a smartphone and a mobile banking app can pay via iDEAL QR.

However, the ultimate goal is to ensure that iDEAL QR codes can be scanned directly by the mobile banking apps of all banks, because that is the shortest process flow for the user. Moreover, this offers a greater sense of security, since paying with iDEAL is and will remain paying via your own bank.

- 20 - Annual Report 2018 IDEAL PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE WITH ITS OWN API

In 2018, Currence, together with its Licensees and Certificate Holders, developed a new version of the iDEAL protocol. The existing iDEAL protocol is more than 15 years old. It has been working exceptionally well and can handle the increasing volumes, but the introduction of new technologies, such as Application Programming Interfaces (API), makes connecting to iDEAL more attractive for the new generation of developers. On the other hand, implementation of the iDEAL API by the Licensees requires investments. It has therefore been decided to delay the introduction of the iDEAL API until, for example, a new functionality is added to iDEAL that requires a modification to the protocol. Till then, the current iDEAL XML protocol will continue to be used.

MORE IDEAL PROVIDERS

In 2018, there were 23 iDEAL Licensees. In the year under review, Moneyou and Svenska Handelsbanken became issuing Licensees (consumer banks) and Nederlandse Waterschapsbank (NWB Bank) and Buckaroo became acquiring Licensees (business service providers). As well as these new additions, 2018 saw several parties express interest in becoming a Licensee, including existing Collecting Payments Service Providers (CPSP10) that already offer the iDEAL option directly. A number of these parties have now started the certification process. This means the number of Licensees is expected to increase further in 2019. At the end of 2018, there were a total of 12 issuing and 11 acquiring Licensees.

In 2018, Currence certified two Certificate Holders (CPSPs) and two others cancelled their certificates due to merger or business cessation or because they became acquirers. The total number of Certificate Holders remained at 60. Of these, 23 providers (38.3 percent) are based outside the Netherlands. It should be noted that most CPSPs based in the Netherlands target the international (mostly European) market.

In 2018, five new C2C providers were accredited by Currence: Pay.nl, MultiSafepay, SNS Bank, RegioBank and ASN Bank. In total, there were 11 C2C providers at the end of 2018.

In 2018, 91.6 percent of the businesses that accepted iDEAL, concluded an iDEAL contract with a CPSP (2017: 90.8 percent). At the end of 2018, there were a total of 132,680 active iDEAL contracts (merchants), representing an increase of 32.3 percent compared to 2017 (100,261 merchants). The CPSPs are very important for iDEAL, because they make it

10 CPSPs are payment service providers that act as resellers offering iDEAL to businesses. To do this, CPSPs enter into an agreement with one or more acquirers.

- 21 - Annual Report 2018 possible for foreign merchants (share of total: 12.5 percent) to offer iDEAL as a payment instrument to Dutch customers. As a result, these customers can pay for purchases on foreign websites with a reliable and secure payment instrument that they are used to.

The diagrams above show the share of transactions and turnover processed by acquirers, CPSPs and C2C providers. The share of the acquirers has declined in favour of the C2C providers. The share of the CPSPs have remained more or less the same.

DDOS ATTACKS PUT PRESSURE ON IDEAL AVAILABILITY

The stability of the iDEAL payment chain is an important theme for Currence and its Licensees and Certificate Holders. That is why the availability of this chain is a matter of constant attention. Individual disruptions in the iDEAL payment system for Licensees and Certificate Holders have a direct impact on businesses and consumers. Disruptions in the iDEAL payment chain are rare but, when they occur, they are always very visible, no matter how minor they may be. Since 2016, the Dutch Financial Supervision Act (Wft) has laid down availability requirements for ‘time-critical payment orders’. These are payment orders where the payment is credited to the payee by the payer within the expected time, once it has been approved by the payer. iDEAL payments fall under this category. However, it should be noted that this does not refer to payments where the money is received immediately by the payee, but to a message (a guarantee) that the amount will be credited at a later time. In accordance with the Financial Supervision Act, iDEAL Licensees are obliged to meet the prescribed availability standard during ‘prime time’ (from 06:00 to 00:30). DNB (de Nederlandsche Bank) has drawn up a route path for this standard. From 2019 onwards, the prime-time availability standard will be 99.88 percent, whereas this was 99.76 percent in 2018. The non-prime-time availability standard in 2018 was 98.5 percent. In early 2018, some iDEAL consumer banks suffered repeated DDoS attacks by criminals. The attacks on these banks disrupted most of the online services, including iDEAL.

- 22 - Annual Report 2018 Consumer banks try to protect themselves as far as possible against such attacks so as to limit the possible impact on their services. Collaboration is important for this, not only between the iDEAL parties themselves but also with the government, police and investigation services. iDEAL made use of scheme roles to facilitate this collaboration. iDEAL acquirers (payment service providers of businesses) were able to meet the prime- time standard of 99.76 percent in 2018. The average availability was 99.91 percent. Issuers (consumer banks), with an average availability of 99.68 percent as a result of the aforementioned DDOS attacks, were unable to meet the standard. However, the standard was met later in the year.

During non-prime-time hours, both acquirers, with 99.86 percent availability, and issuers, with 99.32 percent availability, more than met the defined availability standard of 98.5 percent.

IDEAL IS A SECURE PAYMENT INSTRUMENT

In 2017, iDEAL took the initiative to share information about fraudulent online stores with the National Internet Fraud Reporting Centre (Landelijk Meldpunt Internetoplichting, LMIO), the Public Prosecution Service and iDEAL non-banking payment service providers. This information was already being shared with banks prior to 2017. What was new was that non- banking payment service providers were also warned about malicious online stores. As soon as three or more reports are made to the police about the same online store, payment service providers are notified regarding this. This enables them to take the appropriate measures faster against the suspect online store. As a result, a number of fraudulent websites were taken offline in 2018, putting an end to their illegal activities. It is worth noting that almost none of these online stores actually offered iDEAL as a payment instrument. This indicates that adequate measures are being taken by the iDEAL contracting parties to protect the scheme against malicious parties.

- 23 - Annual Report 2018 IDIN: ONLINE LOGIN, IDENTIFICATION AND AGE CONFIRMATION

The Netherlands is one of the countries with the highest rate of internet penetration in Europe. An essential next step in the digitisation process is ensuring the wide availability of an e- identity. The greater the certainty and reliability with which companies and institutions can determine the identity of customers and users, the more relevant and important applications they can offer them. In many countries, banks play a key role in providing access to the online economy. They do this by offering a secure and straightforward login, combined with the customer identity which is known and verified by the banks. After all, customers must identify themselves with the bank before opening a bank account. Moreover, banks have years of experience with online security and internet banking. They have the expertise needed to find the right balance between a high level of security and user-friendliness. In collaboration with the Dutch Payments Association, the leading Dutch banks have developed iDIN. For consumers, the use of iDIN seems very similar to iDEAL. After a successful pilot project, the final product was presented to the market in late 2016. Issues related to privacy, digital proof and numerous legal frameworks play an important role around e-identity. This has been explicitly taken into account in the development of iDIN. As a result, iDIN is a reliable and secure means of identification that complies with the latest European privacy legislation (GDPR) by offering privacy-enhancing measures and data minimisation (privacy by design). iDIN is also in accordance with the European regulations for electronic identification (eIDAS). Companies want to avoid data breaches, but user names and ‘weak’ or insecure passwords that are vulnerable to hacking are still widely used. Companies hit by such problems are held liable. iDIN is as secure as internet banking and iDEAL; there is no longer need for a vulnerable login system.

- 24 - Annual Report 2018 iDIN offers organisations various benefits:  Provides certainty about customer identity  Can be used directly by millions of customers (secure, easy and fast)  Increases conversion rates because it allows organisations to offer their services completely online  Protects companies against identity fraud thanks to the fraud monitoring procedures of banks  A high-quality identification: eIDAS assurance level ‘Substantial’  Helps fulfil one of the GDPR requirements, i.e. guaranteeing customers reliable and secure access to their data

There are also several benefits for consumers:  Single login for companies and institutions  Easy and secure  Uses the trusted login method of their own bank  No need to remember separate usernames and passwords  No need to enter personal data since this is automatically filled in

With iDIN, banks are making a social contribution in terms of the digitisation of the Dutch economy. In view of the positive feedback from market parties regarding the use of iDIN in practice, both government bodies and private users will benefit greatly from the use of iDIN.

IDIN GROWTH TAKES OFF iDIN is the only login and online identification tool in the Netherlands that allows organisations to reach 13 million citizens in one go. Since its introduction, iDIN has experienced significant growth, both in the number of transactions and the number of merchants. More than 2.9 million successful iDIN transactions have been completed since its introduction in 2016. The use of iDIN increased almost fivefold in 2018, compared to 2017. More than 100 merchants are already live, in various sectors. In addition, six DISPs (Digital Identity Service Providers) have been certified. Besides the banks, these are the parties that can help companies integrate iDIN on their websites. A large number of organisations are working on implementing iDIN. iDIN may be at the start of its life cycle but it has enormous potential: iDIN could actually be used in all login situations. By way of comparison, the successful iDEAL product also needed a long lead time to reach half a billion transactions per year in 2018.

- 25 - Annual Report 2018 IDIN PRODUCT TYPES: NOW THREE, SOON TO BE FOUR

At present, with the help of iDIN, consumers can log onto the websites of various organisations, identify themselves and confirm their age. In the year under review, 24 percent of the transactions were carried out for the purpose of age verification by, for example, online lotteries and online stores selling (electronic) cigarettes. Of the remaining transactions, 44 percent were for logging in, for example, to personalised online environments. Online identifications accounted for 32 percent of iDIN transactions. This includes identification for the purpose of taking out insurance policies, mobile telephone subscriptions and mortgages or for requesting a credit registration online.

In 2018, it was decided to introduce a new product type, iDIN Sign. This product type is expected to become available in 2019. Using the bank’s login methods, consumers will be able to sign documents online in a user-friendly manner. When using iDIN Sign, consumers will be clearly notified that their identification data will be forwarded in the context of a signature. Organisations will have to purchase iDIN from a DISP with a specific certificate for the provision of signing services. A certified DISP will offer its business customers the opportunity to integrate iDIN Sign on their website. iDIN Sign will provide a signature that meets the EU requirements for an Advanced Electronic Signature (AES).

- 26 - Annual Report 2018 IDIN EVEN EASIER WITH THE APP VERSION AND QR

In 2018, it became even easier to use the iDIN functionality as a result of its integration in mobile banking apps. It is now possible for consumers to identify themselves online using the mobile version of iDIN without having to use an identifier, scanner, TAN code, or digipass device. This version further simplifies the use of iDIN and will increase the adoption and use of iDIN. In 2019, studies will be conducted into the use of the iDIN QR code, in order to make usage even simpler and more user-friendly with a focus on the login aspect.

FEWER PASSWORDS AND USERNAMES REQUIRED WITH IDIN

As indicated earlier, iDIN can in principle be used in all login situations. Moreover, studies show that iDIN meets the needs of many people in the Netherlands. A survey, conducted by market research firm Perspective among more than 2000 Dutch citizens, shows that three-quarters of the respondents hate having to keep thinking of new passwords for online registration with a company or institution. To avoid having to do this, 4 out of 10 admit to using weak passwords. iDIN has published a press release with an infographic about this. The message was that, when using iDIN, people no longer need to come up with new login names and passwords. The customer can log in with the secure and trusted login methods of his or her own bank, which are also the same login methods he or she uses for iDEAL and internet banking.

AWARENESS

The ‘iDIN Monitor: awareness, experience and use of iDIN’ study (iDIN Monitor; bekendheid, beleving en gebruik iDIN) carried out in May 2018 revealed that unaided awareness of iDIN was still very low (1 to 2 percent), while aided awareness (with a description about iDIN and after displaying the logo) was still only 14 percent. Growth in brand awareness requires time, during which consumers need to come into frequent contact with the brand.

- 27 - Annual Report 2018 A number of campaigns, such as those in the Financieele Dagblad newspaper and Elsevier, and a TV commercial broadcast in July and December were aimed at increasing brand awareness among consumers and merchants. Thanks to these campaigns, the percentage of Dutch people completely unfamiliar with iDIN decreased by 12 percentage points.

GOVERNMENTS IN MANY COUNTRIES WELCOME PRIVATELY DEVELOPED LOGIN METHODS

The Netherlands is not the only country where banks or other parties have responded to the need for a reliable identification and login solution. This is happening in many countries. In Norway, for example, the first customers received a BankID as early as in 2004, after the country's banking sector spent four years developing a joint infrastructure to facilitate the move. Currently, 4 million Norwegians have a BankID. All banks in Norway offer BankID as a means of accessing the digital services of the government and of an increasing number of companies in a wide range of sectors. A second example is Belgium. Itsme was launched in Belgium in 2017, allowing users to digitally prove their identity without having to use card readers or other devices. Belgians can log on to websites and approve digital transactions quickly and securely via the Itsme mobile identity app. The Belgian government officially recognised Itsme in January 2018, allowing Belgians to log into numerous government websites and even use it, for example, to file their tax returns. And everything guarantees the highest possible level of security. Cooperation between the government and the business community is clearly bearing fruit in Norway and Belgium. In the Netherlands, iDIN has from the outset looked for ways of cooperating with the government.

- 28 - Annual Report 2018 DIGITAL GOVERNMENT ACT

In the context of the proposed Digital Government Act (Wet Digitale Overheid), the government is expected to launch the tender procedure in 2019 for the selection of one or more private systems to be used in the government domain (BSN domain). The selected login methods will then be offered in addition to DigiD. In view of the upcoming tender procedure, the successful pilot being carried out by the Tax and Customs Administration with iDIN and other online identification and login methods was discontinued in November. The government has laid down requirements with respect to security, reliability and user- friendliness. iDIN meets these requirements and looks forward to the tender procedure with confidence.

- 29 - Annual Report 2018 EMANDATES: ISSUING VALID ONLINE MANDATES FOR DIRECT DEBITS

Customers can use the eMandates product to issue a legally valid online authorisation to payees for performing periodic or one-off direct debits from their payment accounts. A signature on paper is not required for this. Consumers or business customers can issue an eMandate online using their bank’s trusted internet or mobile banking channel, just as in the case of an iDEAL payment. eMandates are secure, fast, and easy-to-use.

There are two types of eMandates: standard eMandates that focus on the private market and business eMandates for use in the commercial market.

As far as the private market is concerned, eMandates offer the following benefits: certainty that the authorisation is issued by an authorised person; that the authorisation is recognised by the bank; and that the IBAN used for the direct debit is correct. This increases the chance of success of the first direct debit from a new customer. Moreover, businesses do not run the risk of customers being able to reverse the direct debit up to 13 months after the transaction was completed. In the case of eMandates, European regulations limits this risk to eight weeks.

When the business variant of eMandates is used, not only can the authorisation be issued completely online, but this authorisation also gets automatically registered at the payer’s bank. The payer and payee do not have to do anything further to complete the registration process. This saves time and reduces the likelihood of incorrect entries. The result is an increase in the number of successful commercial direct debits, which incidentally cannot be reversed.

Currently, eMandates are offered on the market by six Licensees that allow their private customers to issue eMandates online and by eight Licensees that offer eMandates to business customers. In addition, five new Mandate Service Providers (MSPs) were accredited in 2018, taking the total number of MSPs to 29. These parties are responsible for the technical integration of payees with the various credit institutions. The role of the Routing Service Provider is also defined under the eMandates scheme. This party is responsible for the routing of the transaction messages between the credit and debit institutions. A single organisation - equensWorldline - has been certified for this purpose.

- 30 - Annual Report 2018 In 2018, almost 482,615 direct debit authorisations were issued using eMandates, which is 74 percent more than in 2017. Since the launch of eMandates in 2016, nearly half a million successful authorisations have been issued. In total, there are 352 active payees (companies offering eMandates to their customers). Organisations that use eMandates are active in various sectors. The most active sector for this product is education, in which the vast majority of direct debit authorisations are issued via eMandates. In addition, eMandates are also used, for example, by Pathé, Sligro, Albert Heijn, Volvo and ASR.

ACCEPTGIRO: DECLINE CONTINUES UNABATED

PAPER PAYMENT ORDERS USED VERY RARELY

Today, almost all payment orders are issued digitally. In the business world, this is already at 100 percent. In 2018, consumers issued payment orders on paper for less than 2 percent of all payments by funds transfer. In 2005, this figure was still as high as 10 percent. The number of Acceptgiro payments continued to decline further in the year under review. In 2018, only 11 million paper Acceptgiro forms were processed. This is a decline of 24 percent compared to 2017 (14.5 million paper Acceptgiro forms), roughly the same percentage of decline as in 2017 and 2016. The decline is mainly due to the fact that payees are increasingly switching to more efficient payment methods such as European direct debits and iDEAL (possibly in combination with QR).

- 31 - Annual Report 2018

In more than 9 out of 10 cases, recipients of printed Acceptgiro forms make the requested payment via internet or mobile banking. This means that less than 10 percent of the Acceptgiro forms are used for the purpose for which the printed version is provided. In 2010, this figure was still as high as 29 percent. Even without an Acceptgiro contract, companies and institutions can use the Payment Instruction templates introduced by the Dutch Payments Association in 2018. The payment reference and possibly the (iDEAL) QR code can be included in these Payment Instructions. This is an excellent alternative to distributing the relatively expensive Acceptgiro forms and also a much more user-friendly solution since there is no longer any need to retype the data or send out forms.

- 32 - Annual Report 2018 EXPLANATION OF THE S TRUCTURE, ORGANISATION AND GOV ERNANCE OF THE COMPANY

STRUCTURE

STRUCTURE OF THE COMPANY

At the time of its establishment, Currence was designed to achieve maximum transparency and flexibility. Currence Holding B.V. has various subsidiaries, in the form of product-specific private limited-liability companies. Currence Holding B.V. has issued ‘lettered’ shares to its shareholders (shares A to F). Each type of lettered share is related to a specific product- specific private limited-liability company.

This structure has a number of advantages for Currence. On the one hand, it allows the policy on the uniform payments system and the overall external profile of the company to become more firmly embedded. On the other hand, it leaves enough scope for individual shareholders’ interests, and for their relevant rights and obligations to be differentiated for specific products. A shareholder does not have to participate in all product-specific private limited liability companies.

The interests of shareholders may differ for each product-specific private limited-liability company. In order to facilitate access of new shareholders, conditions have been established that new (and existing) shareholders must comply with. This creates a transparent market situation for all parties. A non-bank that plays a role in a particular payment product, for instance, may also be an investor in a product-specific private limited liability company. The non-bank may then become a shareholder of Currence Holding B.V., accepting financial risks only for the specific product concerned and having shareholder rights to vote on the long-term policy for that product only. This structure allows different parties to invest in payment innovation.

- 33 - Annual Report 2018 LEGAL STRUCTURE OF CURRENCE

Each payment product is operated by a separate private limited liability company. The product- specific private limited-liability companies own the rights to the brands and logos, copyrights and other (intellectual) property rights. This also means that these private limited liability companies are the contracting parties of the licensees and certificate holders and are responsible for issuing licences and certificates and for the related (compliance) procedures. The product-specific private limited liability companies also have specific financial rights and obligations.

ORGANISATION

MANAGEMENT OF THE ORGANISATION

For its internal management, Currence has established an annual Planning and Control cycle. Within the context of this cycle, the objectives formulated by the Executive Board are divided into departmental plans and subsequently into individual plans for the staff. In order to provide insight into both the risks associated with the operations and the control of the extent to which the above objectives are realised, Currence produces quarterly and other reports. These partly serve to assess the achievement of the intended objectives and to adjust the business plans as required. If necessary, attention is also paid to absenteeism. In addition, the development of the budget and any associated risks are analysed and assessed every quarter. These internal risk management and control systems worked effectively during the year under review. DNB oversees the regulation of Currence and its products as part of its duty to promote security and efficiency in the payment system.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE CODE

Currence attaches great value to good corporate governance. Currence does not fall within the scope of the Corporate Governance Code but endorses the aims of the Code, achieving a sound and transparent system of checks and balances. Currence follows the principles of the Code to the extent that they apply to its situation.

- 34 - Annual Report 2018 INDEPENDENT GOVERNANCE

Operating independently is a prerequisite to Currence being able to fulfil its mission and perform well. Currence’s governance structures safeguards its independence. The Executive Board operates independently. No market players whatsoever can influence management decisions concerning the admission of new players to the market (competitors or otherwise). Nor may they exercise any influence that would lead to the unfair exclusion of (potential) market players or impede innovation. The independent Supervisory Board advises and supervises the Executive Board. It acts in the interests of the company and its subsidiaries, also taking the shareholders’ interests into account. As the shareholders themselves operate in the payments market, and with a view to the requirements of free competition, they have no powers regarding Currence’s commercial policy, the admission to the market or the Rules and Regulations and product changes, other than their statutory powers. The General Meeting of Shareholders has specific approval authority in exceptional cases only, where product modifications would entail radical changes, and consequently investments, in the payments infrastructure.

Additional assurance of Currence’s independence is provided by the independent possibility of appeal to the Netherlands Arbitration Institute (NAI). Licensees, certificate holders and applicants for admission to the market can appeal to this institute against decisions or sanctions by Currence. No appeals have yet been filed. Within the framework of its informal approval expressed on April 19th 2005, the Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa, currently ACM) has issued a positive assessment of Currence’s governance in relation to the competition requirements. With its independent governance, Currence fulfils a unique role in Europe that has proved its worth for the operation and management of the uniform payment systems market.

ROLE FOR MARKET PLAYERS

Currence will consult with market parties before reaching a decision on changing products and/or regulations. Indeed, these changes may directly affect the business operations of stakeholders, especially the operations of licensees and certificate holders. Market consultations and a structural dialogue with stakeholders in the payment chain relating to its products are vital to the effective operation of Currence. This is safeguarded in part by advisory bodies composed of licensees and groups of certificate holders. They represent the customers of Currence. Furthermore, Currence maintains regular contact with umbrella groups, industry associations and consumer organisations.

- 35 - Annual Report 2018