Small online banks have warned of unfair competition if a proposal to force banks to provide a network of cash machines becomes law.

The new legislation would force banks with 50,000 clients or more to contribute to a network of Geldmaat cash machines, which are owned by main banks ABN Amro, ING and Rabobank.

Small online banks Revolut, Triodos, bunq and Van Lanschot Kempen fear that this will put the three big banks in a position to determine fees, which will hit them disproportionately, they said. They also said they provide mainly online services and that their clients “have little or no need for cash transactions”.

Knab spokeswoman Maartje Cremers said clients have specific reasons for using a digital bank. “We recognise our social responsibility but to be forced to accept cash for free via Geldmaat is not the solution,” she told Nu.nl.

The new law aims to keep cash accessible, which small banks recognise is important, they said in a letter to parliament.

However, smaller banks “should not have to pay for the infrastructure of their competitors without any say”, Frank Aghmio, head of Revolut in the Netherlands told the Telegraaf.

The law would also form a barrier for new players in banking, Agmio said.

“Fintechs and new players will shy away from the Dutch market. Small banks like us introduce innovative services to the market and we compete with the big banks. We offer higher interest rates and free saving accounts not linked to checking accounts and that is impossible at big banks,” Aghmio said.

The Council of State said in November that the lack of competition among providers of cash machines is worrying and agreed the smaller banks would have to bear a disproportional part of the cost.