Banks in the Netherlands Will Be Replacing All Debit Cards
All major Dutch banks are switching customers to new Visa and Mastercard debit cards, to replace the old Maestro and V PAY system.
All Dutch banks are replacing customers' debit cards with new Debit Mastercard and Visa Debit cards, with the aim of expanding payment options both at home and abroad. For anyone who has ever tried to pay on a foreign website with a Dutch bank card and hit a wall, this is long overdue.
Until recently, many Dutch shops only accepted Maestro or V PAY cards, meaning customers carrying Visa or Mastercard debit cards, including many visitors from Germany and Belgium, were regularly unable to pay by card at all and had to fall back on cash. The Netherlands had become an outlier in this respect, as most other European countries had already moved to the more internationally recognised Visa and Mastercard systems.
Rentals in the Netherlands
Signaal tracks the Dutch rental market and notifies you the moment something matches your search. Be first to apply.
What is different about the new cards
The upgrade is significant, particularly for anyone who shops online or travels regularly. The new cards allow consumers to pay worldwide wherever Mastercard and Visa are accepted, including at foreign online stores. They also come with a 16-digit card number and a CVC or CVV security code, which is the three or four digit security number used to verify online transactions.
This means you can now use your Dutch debit card the same way you would use a card from most other countries, entering your card number, expiry date, and security code at checkout, rather than being redirected through extra steps.
The new cards use a system based on digital tokens rather than saving card information directly online, a security measure that has been linked to a 50% reduction in fraud rates within European online payments since its introduction.
One small note for ING customers: the CVC security code will not be printed on the card itself and can only be found through the ING app.
When will you get yours?
You do not need to request the new card. It will arrive automatically when your current one is up for replacement. The timing varies depending on which bank you are with.
ING began replacing expiring cards in November 2025 and expects most customers to receive new cards by the end of 2026. Rabobank started issuing new cards in 2024, replacing them as existing cards expired. ABN AMRO began its rollout in mid-2025 and estimates that just over 10% of its cards have been replaced so far, with the bank looking into whether it can speed up the process. ASN Bank expects its rollout to be complete by October 1, 2026, with around 418,000 of its 3 million customers already using the new card.
According to the Dutch Payments Association, over 30 million Dutch debit cards will eventually be replaced, with the goal of all Dutch payment cards bearing either the Visa Debit or Mastercard Debit brand by the end of 2028.
Important limitations to know
The new cards are debit cards, not credit cards, and that distinction matters. The new cards draw funds directly from your account, so no credit is involved. They also do not include purchase insurance, which is a feature of credit cards that protects transactions against loss, theft, or damage for up to 180 days.
However, online shoppers are not entirely without protection. Online payments are covered by a chargeback system, which allows customers to dispute a transaction if a purchase is not delivered. This does not apply to iDEAL or Wero payments though, so it is worth keeping that in mind when choosing how to pay online.
Part of a bigger shift in Dutch payments
The new bank cards are not the only payment change underway in the Netherlands. The widely used iDEAL online payment system is also transitioning to Wero, a European payment platform. The rollout begins in 2026 and a full phase-out of iDEAL is expected by the end of 2027. iDEAL, which requires you to select your bank and confirm a payment through your banking app, has been the standard for Dutch online shopping for two decades.
Together, these changes mark a significant step toward bringing Dutch payment infrastructure in line with the rest of Europe, making everyday transactions simpler for both residents and visitors.
