New features strengthen control over access and payment approvals
Amsterdam, 16 September 2026: Vivid Business introduced custom roles and approval rules for business accounts in the Netherlands. The new features are designed for growing SMEs that are distributing more financial responsibilities across their teams. Business owners can determine which accounts and actions each employee can access and set who must approve outgoing payments. This allows financial responsibilities to be shared across multiple people, with clear rules for access and payment approvals.
As a company grows, more employees become involved in financial processes. This requires clear permissions and controls. According to Allianz Trade’s 2026 Benelux Fraud Trend Report, 89 percent of organisations experienced attempted fraud in the past year, up from 78 percent a year earlier. Internal fraud remains the most common form. Vivid Money is responding with two features that allow businesses to define access to financial processes and payment controls in advance.
With approval rules, business owners can define in advance who must approve an outgoing payment. They can set up to three sequential approval steps for individual employees or roles. The person who creates a payment can never approve it, and each additional step requires approval from a different person. Each payment shows who created and approved it. “Many business owners are familiar with the four-eyes principle, but for smaller companies it is not always practical to apply,” says Esmond Berkhout, CEO of Vivid Money B.V. “By defining in advance who checks a payment, business owners do not have to chase approvals themselves. Someone is always assigned to review it.”
With custom roles, business owners can determine which accounts each employee can see and which actions they are allowed to take. This removes the traditional choice between giving someone full access and having the business owner handle everything themselves. An accountant, for example, can prepare payments without being able to send them, while an office manager may be able to operate only the accounts used for day-to-day office expenses, such as team lunches and workplace supplies, without seeing or having access to other accounts. A single role can be assigned to multiple employees. “As a company grows, more people take on financial responsibilities. A bookkeeper needs different permissions from someone managing office expenses,” says Berkhout. “With custom roles, business owners can define which accounts and actions are accessible for each role.”
Vivid is a financial platform for small and medium-sized businesses in Europe. It brings the business account, cards with built-in spending controls, invoicing and bookkeeping together in one app. In the Netherlands, services are provided by two licensed entities within the Vivid Group. Vivid Money S.A. provides payment and electronic money services and is authorised as an electronic money institution by the CSSF in Luxembourg. Investment and crypto services are provided by Vivid Money B.V., which holds the required licences with the AFM in the Netherlands. The features described in this press release are part of the business account and are provided by Vivid Money S.A. https://vivid.money/en-eu/
Esmond Berkhout is CEO of Vivid Money B.V. and acts as spokesperson for the Vivid Group in the Netherlands, including Vivid Money S.A.
