Travel money
Travel money in Netherlands: cash or card?
Cards run everything and cash barely appears — but bring a debit card, not just a credit card: Dutch terminals grew up on domestic debit, and plenty of shops still decline credit cards outright.
euro (EUR, €) · figures checked against the sources at the foot of this page
Almost nothing. A few markets, some small cafés, and the occasional machine that has not been updated.
Everything — but debit is what terminals expect. Credit cards are refused in supermarkets and plenty of shops.
A debit card first, a credit card second, and perhaps €20 in notes you will probably not spend.
Turning up with only a credit card. It is the one payment failure that happens here routinely.
The money itself
- €5Grey
- €10Red
- €20Blue
- €50Orange
- €100Green
- €200Yellow-brown
1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, then €1 and €2. Every coin is legal tender across the whole euro area whatever national design is on the back, so change collected in one country spends fine in the next.
Cash rounding is a Dutch habit worth knowing: cash totals are rounded to the nearest five cents, because one and two cent coins are not used here even though they are legal. Pay by card and you are charged the exact amount instead.
Every way to pay, and whether it works for a visitor
Whether a payment method exists in Netherlands and whether you can use it are different questions. This table answers the second one: no local bank account, no local SIM, no residency.
Debit cards (Visa Debit, Debit Mastercard, Maestro)
WorksThe payment method the country is built around. Dutch terminals expect debit, and a foreign debit card with a Visa or Mastercard logo is accepted almost everywhere, contactless included.
Apple Pay / Google Pay
WorksWidely accepted and subject to the same rule as the plastic: whether it works depends on whether the card inside is debit or credit. Load the debit card if you have both.
Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard)
Works, with a catchThe gap that catches visitors. Supermarkets — Albert Heijn among them — many shops, market stalls and smaller restaurants take debit only, and will refuse a credit card without apology. Hotels, airlines and tourist-facing businesses are fine.
Cash (euros)
Works, with a catchLegal and accepted in most places, but genuinely unusual. Some businesses have gone card-only, cash totals are rounded to five cents, and paying a large bill in notes will slow everything down.
iDEAL and Tikkie
Residents onlyiDEAL is how the Dutch pay online and Tikkie is how they settle debts between themselves; both run off a Dutch bank account. You will meet iDEAL at online checkouts and simply pick the card option instead.
American Express
Works, with a catchHotels, airlines and larger chains, and not much else. Given that credit cards in general are patchy here, Amex is the least useful card you can bring.
Cash
The Netherlands is close to cashless in practice. Cards cover everything from a €2 coffee to a train ticket, plenty of businesses have stopped accepting notes altogether, and Dutch people carry very little. Twenty euros in your pocket is a contingency rather than a float.
Where cash still appears is the edges: some outdoor markets, a few small cafés, the occasional parking machine. If you do pay in cash, expect the total to be rounded to the nearest five cents, since one and two cent coins are not in use.
The practical risk is the reverse of most countries: not being caught without cash, but being caught with only a credit card.
Cards
Dutch terminals were built around domestic debit — for years that meant Maestro and V PAY, and banks have been replacing those with Debit Mastercard and Visa Debit. The consequence for a visitor is that a debit card carrying a Visa or Mastercard logo works nearly everywhere, while a credit card gets refused in ordinary places: supermarkets, market stalls, small restaurants, plenty of shops.
This is not a technical failure and there is nothing to argue about at the till. Bring a debit card if you possibly can, keep the credit card for hotels, airlines and larger businesses, and load the debit card into your phone if you pay that way.
Contactless is universal and the €50 tap ceiling applies to cards but not to phone payments. Decline dynamic currency conversion wherever it is offered and pay in euros.
ATMs
Nearly all cash machines in the Netherlands are Geldmaat, the shared network the major banks pooled their ATMs into. They generally do not surcharge foreign cards, and they are the yellow machines you will see on high streets and in stations.
Because so few people use cash, machines have thinned out — a small town may have one, and it may be inside a supermarket rather than on the street. Withdraw when you see one rather than when you need one.
Take euros and decline any conversion offer. If you are only withdrawing because a market stall wants cash, consider whether you need to at all.
Changing money
Bureaux de change exist around Amsterdam's tourist centre and are consistently poor value. There is no reason to use them: a Geldmaat machine costs nothing extra, and cards work almost everywhere anyway.
If you arrive from outside the euro area, withdraw a small amount at the airport and move on. You are unlikely to spend it.
Leftover euros need no action — they are the easiest currency to hold for another trip.
Costs that are not the price
Tipping is minimal
Service is included and Dutch tipping is light: rounding up, or 5–10% for a good meal in a restaurant. Nothing is expected in cafés, bars or taxis beyond rounding.
Cash totals are rounded
Pay in cash and the total is rounded to the nearest five cents, up or down, because the smallest coins are not in circulation here. Card payments are charged exactly.
Tourist tax in the cities
Amsterdam levies one of the highest accommodation taxes in Europe, charged as a percentage of the room rate, and other cities charge a smaller per-night amount. It is often excluded from the price a booking site shows you.
You can reclaim VAT if you live outside the EU
Minimum spend is €50 in one shop on the same day. Get the form at the till, have it validated at the airport before you check in, and expect meaningfully less back than the headline 21% after the operator's cut.
Paying for transport
The whole country is tap-and-go
OVpay covers every train, metro, tram and bus in the Netherlands, and it takes foreign contactless Visa and Mastercard cards and phone wallets. Tap in and tap out — including on trains, where forgetting to tap out charges you a maximum fare. No OV-chipkaart, no tickets, nothing to buy in advance.
Use one card and keep tapping it
The fare is worked out per journey against the card you tapped in with, so use the same physical card or the same phone for both ends. Two people cannot travel on one card.
Bikes, boats and taxis
Rental bikes and canal boats are booked and paid by card, usually online. Taxis take cards; app rides settle in the app. Nothing here needs cash.
What you may carry in and out
Cash payment cap
Traders in the Netherlands may not accept cash payments of €3,000 or more, a rule aimed at businesses rather than at travellers, and one you would only meet buying something substantial.
Carrying cash across the EU border
€10,000 or more entering or leaving the European Union has to be declared to customs. Movements within the EU need no declaration.
Common questions about money in Netherlands
Do I need cash in the Netherlands?
Hardly at all. Cards cover everything including small amounts, and some businesses no longer take notes. Twenty euros is plenty as a contingency, and cash totals get rounded to the nearest five cents when you do use it.
Why was my credit card declined in a Dutch supermarket?
Because Dutch terminals are built around debit. Supermarkets including Albert Heijn, along with many shops, market stalls and smaller restaurants, accept debit cards only and refuse credit cards as a matter of policy. Bring a debit card carrying a Visa or Mastercard logo and keep the credit card for hotels and airlines.
Can I tap my bank card on Dutch trains and trams?
Yes — OVpay covers every train, metro, tram and bus in the country and accepts foreign contactless cards and phone wallets. Tap in and tap out with the same card or device, and remember to tap out on trains or you will be charged the maximum fare.
Is Amsterdam expensive to withdraw cash in?
Not if you use a Geldmaat machine, the shared network that most Dutch ATMs belong to, which generally does not surcharge foreign cards. Machines have become scarce as cash use falls, so withdraw when you pass one rather than when you need it.
Should I tip in the Netherlands?
Lightly or not at all. Service is included in prices; rounding up is normal and 5–10% is generous in a restaurant. There is no expectation in cafés, bars or taxis.
Can I use Apple Pay in the Netherlands?
Yes, widely — but it inherits the card inside it. A phone loaded with a credit card will be refused in the same places the plastic would be, so add your debit card if you have one.
Can I claim VAT back in the Netherlands?
If you live outside the EU, on purchases of €50 or more in one shop on the same day. Ask for the form at the till and have it validated at the airport before check-in; the refund arrives after the operator's cut rather than at the full 21%.
Where these figures come from
Checked against the following on . Fees and thresholds move; where a figure varies by bank or by machine, this page gives the range rather than inventing a single number.