Cash use continues to decline

The downward trend in the number of purchases paid for in cash continued in 2014. Consumers in the Netherlands increasingly chose to use their debit card, including for smaller amounts. In the retail sector, debit card payments even outnumbered cash payments for the first time in 2014. This was shown by joint research conducted by the Dutch Payments Association and De Nederlandsche Bank into the use of cash and debit cards in the Netherlands in 2014.

The number of cash payments fell from 3.8 billion in 2012 and 2013 to 3.4 billion in 2014. After a one-year interruption, the decline in cash use therefore resumed. The value of cash payments also fell, from €47 billion in 2013 to €42 billion in 2014. The average amount paid in cash remained around €12 in 2014.

• Total number of point-of-sale payments
• Total value of point-of-sale payments

People in the Netherlands were using debit cards more and more. Over the previous four years, the number of debit card payments increased by 35%, from 2.2 billion in 2010 to 2.9 billion in 2014. Their value also rose, from €81 billion in 2010 to €89 billion in 2014, but at a slower rate. The average debit card payment had fallen sharply, as consumers increasingly used debit cards for small purchases too. The introduction of contactless payments, which did not require a PIN for purchases up to and including €25, was expected to accelerate this trend in the years ahead. The withdrawal of Chipknip on 1 January 2015 would also encourage people to use debit cards for more small amounts.

Retail milestone: debit cards overtake cash for the first time

On average, people in the Netherlands paid for 53% of their point-of-sale purchases in cash and 45% by debit card in 2014. However, there were major differences between sectors. In the retail sector, debit card payments accounted for a larger share than cash payments for the first time in 2014. This sector includes shops such as supermarkets and clothing shops. Consumers made 50% of payments in this sector by debit card and 49% in cash. Cash remained dominant in other sectors, such as hospitality and personal services, although the share of debit card payments was clearly rising there too.

Retailers increasingly recognised the benefits of debit card payments in shops. This was also demonstrated by the agreement they concluded with the banks to promote debit card use together. Their target was to reach a 60% share for debit card payments and 40% for cash by 2019. Debit card use would therefore have to increase by at least 15 percentage points over the following four years.

Debit card use rises among all population groups

The increase in debit card use was visible among all population groups. Men, young adults aged 25–34 and people with a higher level of education used debit cards relatively often. However, the strongest increase in 2014 was among the groups that had traditionally paid in cash frequently. Between 2013 and 2014, debit card use among people with a lower level of education and older people aged 65–74 rose by nine and eight percentage points respectively, to 32% and 38%. These groups still made between 61% and 67% of all their point-of-sale payments in cash.

For all the findings of the joint research by DNB and the Dutch Payments Association into the use of cash and debit cards in the Netherlands in 2014, download the factsheet ‘Payments at the point of sale, 2014’ (in Dutch). It contains information about cash and debit card use in general and by transaction amount, sector and demographic characteristics, seasonal developments in payment behaviour during the year and consumers’ preference for cash or debit cards.