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100 millionth contactless payment reached earlier than expected

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A new contactless payment milestone was reached at Forum Sport in Voorburg on Saturday 14 November: the 100 millionth contactless payment. The number of contactless payments had risen explosively over the preceding months. More and more people in the Netherlands paid amounts up to and including €25 quickly and easily by briefly holding their debit card or mobile phone against the payment terminal, without entering a PIN. “We did not expect to reach this milestone so soon,” said Piet Mallekoote, director of the Dutch Payments Association.

Young athlete makes contactless payment at sports canteen bar; team celebrates the 100 millionth transaction with balloons.

Since contactless payments were introduced in early 2014, their number had grown steadily (in Dutch). Mallekoote: “We see that more and more consumers are discovering contactless payments and appreciating the benefits of fast, small payments without a PIN. Once somebody has made a contactless payment, they tend to do so more often.” More than 90% of contactless payments were for €25 or less.

Businesses

Businesses also clearly recognised the benefits of contactless payments. More than a third of the roughly 300,000 payment terminals in use in the Netherlands supported contactless payments, compared with one in six a year earlier.

Forum Sport in Voorburg had recently begun accepting contactless payments too. “It can get very busy here at the bar, especially at half-time. We cannot afford delays when people pay. Contactless payments are therefore an ideal solution for us,” said Gert-Jaap Glasbergen, Forum Sport’s treasurer. Glasbergen saw the 100 millionth contactless payment taking place at Forum Sport as a positive signal to other sports clubs. “I hope this inspires others, because fast payments are pleasant for everyone.”

‘Make debit card payments part of your sport’ campaign

Many sports clubs accepted few or no debit card payments. The ‘Make debit card payments part of your sport’ campaign informed sports clubs about the option of accepting debit card and contactless payments. More information about the campaign was available at www.pinnenzakelijk.nl/sport.

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