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Point-of-sale payments in the first half of 2020

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, retailers encouraged consumers to make more contactless payments to minimise the risk of transmitting the virus through hand contact. Consumers responded in large numbers, as shown by the interim results of joint research by the Dutch Payments Association and De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) into point-of-sale payments.

Hand holds a debit card against a POS terminal for a contactless payment in a bright, professional retail or office environment.

Value of cash payments halves

The share of contactless payments has risen sharply since the lockdown began on 16 March. This increase came partly at the expense of traditional debit card payments, in which the card is inserted into the payment terminal, but mainly at the expense of cash. In the first months of the year, cash still accounted for around 30% of all point-of-sale payments; in April, its share fell to less than half that level. The value of cash payments also halved during the COVID-19 crisis.

Distribution of point-of-sale payments by payment method in the first half of 2020
Distribution of the number of point-of-sale payments by payment method in the first half of 2020
Distribution of the value of point-of-sale payments by payment method in the first half of 2020
Distribution of the value of point-of-sale payments by payment method in the first half of 2020

Increase in contactless payments

It remains to be seen whether this decline in cash use will persist. The first preliminary data for May and June show a modest increase in the share of cash. At 18% of all point-of-sale payments in June, however, it was still considerably lower than before the lockdown. The sharp increase in the share of contactless payments and its stabilisation in recent months show that consumers are increasingly embracing this payment method.

See also the COVID-19 bulletin (in Dutch).

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