Skip to content

Elderly increasingly pay with debit card

Published on:

The Dutch pay with cash at points-of-sale (POS) slightly less often. Only 17% of Dutch payments are made in cash. Even people aged 75 and older increasingly pay with cash less often and increasingly with a debit card. In total, Dutch consumers made slightly fewer POS payments in 2025 (7.1 billion transactions) than in 2024 but for a higher total amount (€185 billion). The annual joint study ‘Betalen aan de Kassa‘ (in Dutch) by De Nederlandsche Bank and the Dutch Payments Association, offers these and other insights into Dutch point-of-sale payments.

Oudere vrouw houdt een betaalpas duidelijk naar voren in een groene buitenomgeving, waarmee zij laat zien dat zij eenvoudig en zelfstandig kan betalen.

Share of cash drops slightly after five stable years

The number of POS debit card payments remained roughly the same in 2025, while the number of cash payments was slightly lower. As a result, the share of cash payments decreased by 2 percentage points to 17%. The share of card payments rose from 80% to 83%. In particular, the share of debit card payments for smaller amounts (up to €10) has increased.

Contactless card payments gain ground

In 2025, traditional card payments — where the debit card is inserted into the payment terminal — declined once again. Only 4% of all POS payments are made this way. A year earlier, this figure was still 6%. This share has declined for relatively large amounts in particular. The rise of cardless payments with smartphones and smartwatches continued unabated. This share rose from 34% in 2024 to 39% of all POS payments.

Digital payments continue to rise among elderly

Although people aged 75 and older still use cash relatively frequently, they began paying digitally more often in 2025. Last year, this group made 74% of their POS payments with a debit card, compared to 70% in 2024. Peer-to-peer payments to family and friends, as well as for sports and other informal activities, are also increasingly digital among older adults. The share of electronic payments — via mobile requests-to-pay or account-to-account transfers — among those aged 75 and older stood at 51% in 2025; that is 16 percentage points higher than in 2024.

Related articles