In the Netherlands this was abolished on December 31, 2001, however exchange of foreign coupons is still possible. The IRC is a product of the Universal Postal Union, the UPU. It was introduced at the Congress of Rome in 1906, on May 27, and became available on October 1, 1907. The Netherlands also participated immediately.
The UPU takes care of the design. There are now 21 different plus three special designs for the 100-year, and 110-year and 140-year existence of the UPU. The current design is for the 2017-2021 period (image).