The Dutch Central Bank published its annual survey on cash acceptance, finding that cash could still be used at most shops, hospitality venues and other service providers in 2025. Acceptance was 96%, broadly unchanged from 2024, but the picture varied by sector and location. Pin-only practices were most common in parking garages, cinemas and pharmacies, and were more prevalent in larger cities. The survey, carried out by Locatus, covered more than 5,000 retailers and 1,000 market stalls across the Netherlands. Only 21% of outlets displayed payment information, down from 25% a year earlier, and 4% clearly indicated they were pin-only, slightly below 5% in 2024. Cash acceptance increased at pharmacies and cinemas compared with 2024, while it fell at parking garages. Cash payment remained almost universal in food specialty shops and non-food stores, and pin-only was rare at markets, where 15 of 1,000 visited stalls accepted only card payments. Pin-only outlets were concentrated in larger municipalities, accounting for about 9% of outlets in places with more than 175,000 residents versus 1% in villages with fewer than 5,000 residents. Separate telephone interviews by Panteia with more than 1,100 retailers and service providers found that businesses mainly accept cash because it is legal tender and because customers want to use it, with both reasons cited by 59% of respondents. Among cash-accepting businesses, 70% were satisfied with cash as a payment method, while dissatisfaction centered on cash deposits, related costs and security risks. Cash also remained an operational fallback, with 78% of businesses asking customers to pay cash when card payments are unavailable and 47% holding extra change for such disruptions. The Dutch Central Bank linked the findings to the 2022 cash covenant under which retail representative bodies committed to support continued cash acceptance. It also noted that a Dutch legal obligation to accept cash payments below EUR 3,000 has been adopted and is intended to take effect once the related exceptions are set.
De Nederlandsche Bank2026-07-07
Dutch Central Bank reports 96 percent cash acceptance in 2025 with pin only concentrated in certain sectors and larger cities
The Dutch Central Bank said cash acceptance remained broadly stable in 2025, with 96% of outlets still accepting cash. Pin-only practices were limited overall but more common in parking garages, cinemas, pharmacies and larger cities. The bank also found that businesses continue to view cash as an important fallback when electronic payments fail.