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by jeroenhd 970 days ago
Netherlands. Only carry cash because I received some as a gift at some point. Only place that I use my cash on is the local barbershop which only takes cash (probably avoids paying taxes that way).

I pay everything through contactless payments through my phone or my debit card barring that.

Some shops don't even take cash anymore because of how few of their customers paid in cash compared to how risky carrying that cash to the bank is. I'm not very happy with that development, but I can understand why they do it.

Some people prefer cash, some people prefer using their debit card (chip + PIN is generally very secure, of course!).
2 comments
CalRobert 970 days ago
Netherlands also here so commenting on yours - I effectively never use cash. I don't actually like this (I prefer privacy), but I also know that my own personal actions won't matter a lot.

I moved here a few months ago from Ireland where cash was still around but a fairly small percentage of retail transactions, but _very_ common for paying for services. Every tradesperson I used wanted me to pay cash and would charge me more if I didn't (they were committing tax fraud). At one point I was expected to have €3,000 in cash just lying around for a stonemason.

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wallaBBB 970 days ago
Important to note that some shops in the Netherlands do not accept credit cards, and some even debit cards from Visa/Mastercard due to high processing fees (few %, varies from market to market and business to business). What made digital payments dominant in the Netherlands is the iDeal and (now retiring) Maestro cards, which have low fees. EU is looking into implementing something like iDeal at EU level, to popularize card payments. Those few % that Visa/Mastercard take are a lot for some low margin businesses.
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jeroenhd 970 days ago
The percentage cut is definitely annoying, but I believe the move from Maestro to Mastercard has also solved creditcard problems for a lot of people. There were a surprising number of Maestro-only terminals out there that were limited by technology rather than policy.

I still don't think I can pay for my groceries with my credit card, but that's clearly indicated at least. I expect the companies refusing the huge processing fees to block credit cards for years to come until the fees go down. That's unfortunate for tourists and immigrants, but mobile payment (bank specific/Apple Pay/Google Wallet) should work over the standard protocol and otherwise there are still ATMs you can use.

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