WFY’26: Netherlands factoring rebounds to €165bn as new law opens up to €600m funding opportunity

The Dutch factoring market returned to growth in 2025, with total transferred volume rising 5.3% to €165bn after declining the previous year. In this country report, Rudy Plugers, Head of Risk at Bibby Financial Services B.V., examines how stronger utilisation of factoring, changing SME financing behaviour and the growing role of non-bank providers are reshaping the market.

The article included in the World Factoring Yearbook 2026 (WFY’26) explores a market where average funds in use reached a record level, smaller businesses sharply increased their use of factoring and a major legal reform removed contractual restrictions on assigning receivables. It also considers fintech competition, embedded invoice finance and the potential consolidation of the Dutch factoring sector.

Below is an excerpt from his article.

The Dutch factoring industry returned to growth in 2025, following the moderate contraction observed in the previous year. According to market statistics collected by the Dutch factoring association FAAN, the total factoring volume increased to EUR 165bn, representing a recovery of approximately 5.3 per cent compared to 2024, when volumes declined to EUR 157bn.

While the market did not surpass its 2023 peak of EUR 168bn factoring volume in 2025, the average funds in use reached EUR 8.8bn in 2025, an increase of 14.6 per cent compared to the previous year (FAAN, 2025). This marks the highest level ever recorded in the Dutch factoring market and underlines the growing use of factoring facilities by businesses.

An important development impacting the factoring market in the Netherlands is the Act on the Abolition of Pledge Prohibitions that went into effect in July 2025. The legislation is the result of years of advocacy by the Dutch factoring association FAAN and is seen as a major step forward in improving financing opportunities for Dutch businesses. The new law enables businesses to use receivables, previously non-transferable due to ban on assignment clauses, as collateral for financing. This is expected to increase the total available credit for Dutch businesses by an estimated EUR 1bn. For the factoring market, it could unlock EUR 400m to EUR 600m in additional funding capacity (FAAN, 2025). This change is particularly beneficial for SMEs, granting them greater access to working capital.

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