Debit card payments are increasingly becoming the new normal in the Netherlands. It is no longer possible to pay with cash in more and more shops or catering establishments. For 1 in 7 Dutch people, this means that they are at risk of being excluded, according to research by the Heart of the Netherlands panel.
According to the Heart of the Netherlands survey, about 18 percent of the Dutch pay almost everything with cash, and 14 percent would even refuse to go to a pin-only establishment. This mainly concerns people between the ages of 30 and 50. People over the age of 65 use a debit card relatively most often. Nevertheless, the association for the elderly ANBO argues that cash is always accepted in certain places. They believe that an acceptance obligation should be arranged in municipal institutions, hospitals and pharmacies.
Pin only
At the moment, 6 percent of businesses are debit-only, which is the same as the number of companies that only accept cash. According to the Dutch Payments Association, the number of pin-only transactions is increasing. 83 percent of the Dutch would mind if cash disappeared, compared to 16 percent who don’t mind and 1 percent who have no opinion.
The main reasons for people to want to pay with cash are:
- The government’s control is too great with debit cards (42%)
- Out of principle (27%)
- It is more reliable (27%)
- I don’t want the bank to know what I spend (27%)
- It’s easier (26%)
- It is a friendlier way to pay (25%)
- More overview of expenses (18%)
- Ease of paying/being paid (8%)
- I find pins difficult (2%)
What do you think?
Do you still regularly pay with cash? And do you agree with the ANBO that a cash acceptance obligation should be introduced in certain places? Or are you an avid pinner, and you only pull out your wallet to get your debit card out?