the Netherlands
Dutch e-commerce runs on iDEAL, which sends shoppers to their own banking app to approve a payment in euros (EUR). In 2025 iDEAL was used for 71% of online purchases, ahead of credit cards (8%) and direct debit (5%), according to Thuiswinkel Markt Monitor figures published by the Dutch Payments Association. iDEAL is now becoming Wero, the European Payments Initiative wallet. Co-branded iDEAL | Wero logos were introduced from early 2026, all Dutch banks are to be connected to Wero by October 2026, and every iDEAL merchant is due to have switched by 31 December 2027. Credit card use is limited, but new Visa Debit and Debit Mastercard cards can now be used online; buy now, pay later (BNPL) is growing among younger shoppers. Merchants selling to Dutch shoppers need iDEAL | Wero first, then cards and often BNPL.
- Online
iDEAL · credit cards · via Click to Pay · SEPA direct debit · buy now, pay later, growing among younger shoppers
- In store
Contactless debit cards · smartphones and smartwatches using Apple Pay or Google Pay · cash, down to 17% of point-of-sale payments · credit cards, held by relatively few people
accepted here, and everywhere
Card schemes and wallets that are not particular to the Netherlands
currencies
In-store payments in the Netherlands
In-store payment is overwhelmingly card-based and contactless. The joint De Nederlandsche Bank and Dutch Payments Association study found that in 2025 cash made up 17% of the 7.1 billion point-of-sale payments, down from 19% a year earlier, while cards rose from 80% to 83%. In 2025, 95% of debit card payments at the till were contactless, only 4% of all point-of-sale payments involved inserting a card, and payments with smartphones and smartwatches rose from 34% to 39% of all point-of-sale payments. Debit cards dominate, and banks are replacing older cards with Visa Debit and Debit Mastercard.
E-commerce in the Netherlands
Dutch consumers spent €35.7 billion online in 2025, down 1% as spending on travel, accommodation, insurance and tickets fell, across a stable 347 million purchases by 14 million online shoppers (Thuiswinkel Markt Monitor). Cross-border buying is rising: 44.8 million purchases were made from foreign shops in 2025, up 9%, with China the leading origin. Smartphones were used for 32% of payments for online purchases. The move from iDEAL to Wero requires system and process changes for payment providers and online retailers, and Wero is meant to let Dutch shoppers pay foreign webshops with the same bank-based flow.
Payment regulation in the Netherlands
De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) is the supervisory authority for payment institutions, which need a licence under the Financial Supervision Act (Wft), the Dutch framework that incorporates PSD2. DNB also oversees iDEAL and Wero, and the technical migration of iDEAL transactions to the Wero platform starts only with DNB approval. The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) supervises conduct: by November 2026 at the latest, BNPL providers and large e-commerce platforms fall under AFM supervision under the revised EU Consumer Credit Directive, with mandatory creditworthiness checks, age verification and registration with the BKR credit bureau. Strong customer authentication applies to online payments.
Banking and financial inclusion
Banking access is near universal: the World Bank Global Findex 2025 put account ownership at 99% of adults and debit card ownership at 97% in 2024. Digital payment is spreading even among older people. In 2025, people aged 75 and over made 74% of their in-store payments by debit card, up from 70% in 2024, and 51% of their person-to-person payments electronically, 16 percentage points more than a year earlier.
What are the most popular payment methods in the Netherlands?
Which payment providers operate in the Netherlands?
Which currencies can merchants accept in the Netherlands?
Sources · 8
- Dutch Payments Association – Online payments (knowledge base, 2025 figures)
- Dutch Payments Association – Debit and credit cards (online payments)
- Dutch Payments Association – Elderly increasingly pay with debit card (Betalen aan de Kassa 2025)
- Dutch Payments Association – Next phase of iDEAL migration to Wero begins in October
- Wero – iDEAL to phase into Wero starting in 2026
- Dutch Payments Association – Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)
- De Nederlandsche Bank – Payment institutions
- World Bank Global Findex – Account ownership, Netherlands
Guide researched September 2026. Payment markets change quickly — check with providers before relying on it. Compiled from public sources. How we compile this