Dutch make more debit card payments than cash for first time ever

Last year Dutch consumers made more debit card payments than cash payments for the first time ever, according to Dutch central bank DNB and Payments Association Netherlands, NU.nl reports. Last year exactly 50 percent of all purchases made at stores, gas stations, restaurants, movie theaters and other places, were made with a debit card. 49.5 percent of purchases were paid for in cash. The other 0.5 percent were paid for by credit cards. In 2015 there were 3.23 billion debit card transactions in the Netherlands, compared to 2.91 billion in 2014. There were 40 million more debit card transactions than cash transactions. An increasing number of Dutch consumers are willing to make small payments with their debit cards. Last year 30 percent of purchases below 5 euros were paid for by card, compared to 11 percent in 2010. As in previous years, the total value of debit card payments were much higher than cash payments last year - 93 billion euros in purchases were paid by debit card and 40 billion euros in cash.