De Nederlandsche Bank and the Dutch Payments Association have published their annual payments study showing that cash was used less often at the checkout in the Netherlands in 2025. Cash accounted for 17% of point of sale payments, down 2 percentage points from 2024, while card payments rose from 80% to 83%. The total number of checkout payments was slightly lower than in 2024 at 7.1 billion transactions, but the total value increased to EUR 185 billion. The decline in cash use reflected fewer cash transactions while the number of debit card payments was broadly unchanged. Debit card use increased particularly for small purchases of up to EUR 10. Traditional card insertion payments continued to fall, dropping to 4% of all checkout payments from 6% a year earlier, while payments by mobile phone or smartwatch rose to 39% from 34%. The study also found a further shift to digital payments among people aged 75 and over. This group made 74% of its checkout payments by debit card in 2025, up from 70% in 2024. For transfers to family and friends and other informal payments, the share of electronic payments by payment request or transfer reached 51%, which was 16 percentage points higher than in 2024.
De Nederlandsche Bank2026-05-27
De Nederlandsche Bank reports cash share of Dutch point of sale payments fell to 17% in 2025
De Nederlandsche Bank and the Dutch Payments Association report a further decline in cash at point of sale in 2025, with cash falling to 17% of checkout payments and card use rising to 83%, while total transactions edged down to 7.1 billion but value increased to EUR 185 billion. The study highlights growing use of debit cards for small purchases, declining traditional card insertion, and increased mobile and smartwatch payments. It also notes a marked shift to digital payments among people aged 75 and over and more electronic transfers for informal payments.