Retail buyers use debit cards more than cash for first time ever

For the first time ever Dutch consumers paid for more retail transactions with their debit cards than in cash last year. Over all sectors consumers used less cash last year than in previous years, but they still paid for more transactions with cash than their cards. The Netherlands Payments Association reported this on Thursday based on a study done with De Nederlandsche Bank. The total number of cash payments fell from 3.8 billion in 2013 to 3.4 billion last year. The total amount paid in cash also fell from 47 billion euro in 2013 to 42 billion euro last year. The average amount paid for in cash was around 12 euros. The number of debit card payments increased from 2.2 billion in 2010 to 2.9 billion last year, an increase of 35 percent. According to the Payments Association, consumers are increasingly opting for debit cards, even for small amounts. The retail sector was the only sector to have more debit card payments - 50 percent - than cash payments - 49 percent. The remaining 1 percent was paid for by credit card. All other sectors still had more cash payments, though the percentage of debit card payments are increasing in these sectors.