A predominantly cashless society

Most every merchant here accepts debit cards as payment. To pay by debit card is to "pinnen" (note: very few grocery stores in NL accept credit cards, which can be a real issue if you're a tourist). The 2 signs below are common sights in The Netherlands.

Loosely translates to "We accept debit cards"

Loosely translates to "only debit cards accepted here"

Pinnen Ja Graag is often seen at farmer's markets where the vendors have this device that is also used by restaurants. It is portable and allows the customer to either hold their debit card up to the machine or insert the card into the machine and enter the PIN for completion of the transaction,similar to the one shown below.

portable debit card reader

Hier Alleen Pinnen is usually seen in brick and mortar stores like grocery stores.

(It just dawned on me as I am writing this that you NEVER see a "Cash Only" sign)

The upshot of all this is that merchants very rarely seem to have actual cash in the store. This is good as it keeps everyone safe... there's nothing to steal, right? However, there is a downside to this. It's almost impossible to get change. I have heard cashiers ask on more than 1 occasion if the customer had a smaller bill. When I've seen this it's usually because the customer has a €20 or €50 and they're buying a small amount of stuff. 

I experienced this the other day and it surprised me. I was at Zeeman's (think "Dollar Tree", but more along the lines of cheap clothing and cleaning products, and most things cost more than €1) purchasing €0.50 worth of dishwashing detergent and all I had were €10's and €20's. I really wanted to break one of the bills because I had forgotten to keep a €1 coin and €0.50 coin with me as I suggest here. I was really looking forward to this opportunity to at least get a €0.50 coin. HOWEVER... when I handed the cashier my €10 she asked me if I had anything smaller. (On a side note, she said it in Dutch and I COMPLETELY understood what she said!!! WOO HOO!!) My response was "Pinnen?" and I heard the tone in response as "Of course you can use a debit card, moron!"

So... heed my advice from my earlier post and hold onto those €0.50 and €1 coins at all costs... you may never see one again!