Point-of-sale and online payments combined back above pre-pandemic levels

31 January 2023

In 2022, the total number of payments made with cash, debit cards, iDEAL and credit cards—at the point of sale and online—increased by more than 16% compared with 2021. The amount spent using these payment methods rose by more than 11%. Around 8.1 billion transactions were made last year, with a total value of almost €282 billion. This was higher than in 2019, the final year before the coronavirus pandemic, when 7.73 billion point-of-sale and online payments were made.

Blue bar chart with ascending bars and an ascending arrow above it visualizing growth or increase.

Point-of-sale payments by debit card and in cash caught up with online payments over the past year. Transaction volume rose by more than 18%. The total number of online payments using iDEAL and credit cards grew by 7%. The lifting of coronavirus restrictions in physical shops is likely to have contributed to this catch-up, although the number of point-of-sale payments remained below its 2019 level. One in five point-of-sale payments was made in cash last year, a proportion comparable with 2021 .

Infographic with key figures on point-of-sale and online payments in 2022.

Almost one third of all debit card payments are cardless

Cardless payments using a smartphone or smartwatch are becoming increasingly popular. Last December, 30% of all debit card payments were cardless, an increase of 50% compared with a year earlier. Only one in ten debit card payments now involves inserting a physical debit card into a payment terminal.

Debit card payments on public transport rising sharply

The number of debit card payments on buses and trams, at metro stations and at railway stations increased by 65% in 2022. This sharp rise is partly due to the introduction of checking in and out of public transport using debit and credit cards (OVpay ). The rollout will be completed this year, after which travelling with a payment card will be possible throughout the Netherlands.

Cash withdrawals rise after years of decline

After years of steady decline, the number of cash withdrawals from ATMs increased again in 2022, by 8% compared with the previous year. The total amount withdrawn rose by as much as 13% to more than €26 billion. Possible explanations include higher inflation and the end of coronavirus restrictions.

Acceptgiro use declines further

At the end of 2021, Currence announced that Acceptgiro would be discontinued permanently in the middle of this year. Since then, the number of paper Acceptgiro forms processed has again fallen by more than 30%, as it did in 2021, to just over 3 million during the past year.