Does Netherland Still Take Cash?

The Netherlands have a high rate of electronic usage, in many places it is easier to use card or phone, some places do not take cash. They are not quite Scandinavia cashless, about as much as the UK, and more so than France, Italy and Spain, and way ahead of Germany.

Just returned. Some places still take cash for sure. For example, ubiquitous grocery store chain Albert Hijn, does NOT take Visa or Mastercard via Apple Pay (only their own method similar to Walmart Pay). Albert Hijn does take cash.

“ For example, ubiquitous grocery store chain Albert Hijn, does NOT take Visa or Mastercard via Apple Pay (only their own method similar to Walmart Pay). ”

Albert Heijn does accept Visa and MasterCard via Apple Pay or via the physical card, but it doesn’t accept credit cards at every store. The large Albert Heijn at Museumplein for instance door accept Visa and MasterCard, but some other smaller Albert Heijn stores don’t accept them.
Also Albert Heijn does not have its own payment system. You can pay by debit card or cash and at some stores also with credit cards.

Interesting. The AH's I used in Utrecht and Rotterdam didn't accept Apple Pay or a physical Visa card with chip. They took cash or AH's proprietary contactless payment system. Only the "AH to Go" at the train stations accepted ApplePay.

“ The AH's I used in Utrecht and Rotterdam didn't accept Apple Pay or a physical Visa card with chip. They took cash or AH's proprietary contactless payment system. Only the "AH to Go" at the train stations accepted ApplePay.”

It seems you didn’t understand my previous post. There is no such thing as an AH proprietary contactless payment system. All Albert Heijn stores accept cash and debit cards. Some larger Albert Heijn stores also accept credit cards.

When it comes to Apple Pay, that is just another way of reading the chip in your credit card or debit card. The payment terminal in the store just reads the chip, it doesn’t care if this chip is in a phone, a watch or in a card.
I have linked my debit card to my Apple Pay account and I can therefore use Apple Pay in every store that accepts my debit card. I use Apple Pay on a daily basis everywhere in the Netherlands.
If I would link a credit card to Apple Pay, I can only pay in places that accept credit cards.
So, the reason you couldn’t use Apple Pay in the Albert Heijns in Rotterdam and Utrecht was not because these stores don’t accept Apple Pay, but because these stores don’t accept the credit card you linked to your Apple Pay.

I used a card exclusively in Amsterdam,but when up at Den Haag, the grocery story in Voorburg only took cash -and charged 2 Euro for a bag. Good thing I always carry a small folding bag.