Debit cards: what the Netherlands pays with
The Dutch pay at the till with a debit card (betaalpas or pinpas), linked to a current account. The Dutch Payments Association (Betaalvereniging Nederland), the banks' own body for the payment system, puts it plainly: there are about six million credit cards in the Netherlands, and less than 0.5% of purchases at Dutch tills are paid by credit card (Betaalvereniging, credit cards, checked 11 Oct 2026).
For years those debit cards carried the Maestro or V PAY brand, which work in Europe but not in many online shops or outside Europe. That is changing: Dutch banks started issuing Visa Debit and Debit Mastercard cards in 2023, Mastercard and Visa are phasing Maestro and V PAY out, and the new cards also work online, with a 16-digit card number and a security code (Betaalvereniging, new debit cards, checked 11 Oct 2026). Your bank sends the new card automatically; you don't need to ask for it (Betaalvereniging, payment cards, checked 11 Oct 2026). Taking a Dutch card abroad has its own catches: see using a Dutch bank card abroad.
For someone arriving with a foreign card, the same change helps. The Betaalvereniging says all payment terminals in the Netherlands have been updated to recognise the new debit cards, "as a result, more foreigners can use their debit cards to pay" at Dutch shops. Albert Heijn, the largest supermarket chain, says a foreign debit card with Maestro or V PAY also works in all its stores (Albert Heijn, "Hoe kan ik betalen in de winkel?", checked 11 Oct 2026).
Credit cards: accepted in fewer places at the till
Online, a Visa or Mastercard credit card works almost anywhere. At the counter it depends on the shop. The Betaalvereniging explains why: credit card transactions cost the shop more than the cheapest debit card payments, so "a limited number of Dutch retailers choose not to accept credit cards". Card scheme rules have pushed more shops to accept them, but a shop may also opt for limited acceptance, in which case European credit cards are not accepted (Betaalvereniging, checked 11 Oct 2026).
Albert Heijn is the example most people run into. Its own list of payment methods says Visa and Mastercard credit cards are accepted in all AH to go stores and in many of its regular supermarkets, and that franchise stores decide for themselves (Albert Heijn, checked 11 Oct 2026). If you shop at one supermarket every week, ask at the till once.
American Express
American Express is missing from lists that name Visa and Mastercard. Two examples: Albert Heijn names Visa and Mastercard, not American Express, among its payment methods, and OVpay, the system for checking in on Dutch public transport with a bank card, recognises Maestro, V PAY, Mastercard and Visa cards (Betaalvereniging, OVpay, checked 11 Oct 2026). If an Amex is your only card, carry a debit card or a Visa or Mastercard as well.
Our credit card comparison lists the Amex cards next to the Visa and Mastercard cards from ICS, ABN AMRO, ING and ANWB, so you can compare what each costs.
Paying with your phone
Apple Pay and Google Pay work at Dutch terminals the same way as tapping a card, and Albert Heijn lists both. Which banks support Apple Pay and Google Pay has the list. With a phone you always approve the payment with your face, fingerprint or code; with a physical card no PIN is usually needed for amounts up to €50, and after a series of contactless payments adding up to €100 (€150 at some banks) the terminal asks for your PIN (Betaalvereniging, debit card payments, mobile payments, both checked 11 Oct 2026).
Trains, trams and buses
Since June 2023 you can check in and out with a debit card, credit card or phone with every public transport company in the Netherlands, through OVpay, instead of buying an OV-chipkaart. The card brands it recognises are Maestro, V PAY, Mastercard and Visa (Betaalvereniging, OVpay, checked 11 Oct 2026).
When you do need a credit card
The Betaalvereniging names the cases: hotels and car rental firms that reserve an amount in advance (a pre-authorisation), and many vehicle, boat and holiday home rentals. Many Dutch credit cards also insure purchases for a few months. Most Dutch credit cards are charge cards, repaid in full each month; see charge card or credit card for what that means, how to get one as an expat, and what students and temporary permit holders can get.
The bunq, N26 and Revolut cards carry a Visa or Mastercard logo but are debit cards: a rental desk that asks for a credit card decides for itself whether it takes one. bunq against Revolut compares two of them, and the travel ranking sorts the real credit cards on what they cost abroad.