Grocery shopping in Leiden

I would expect all the grocery stores to take a credit card. If you open up googlemaps and search ”Grocery store in Leiden” it will show you the store locations.

This was my experience at grocery stores in the Netherlands in Oct. 2023:

I used credit card everywhere except at two Albert Heijn grocery
stores in the Netherlands. Some locations do accept credit cards (the
one at the Delft train station does) and some don’t. So, be prepared
and have cash. Don’t be like me and have all your stuff scanned at the
self-checkout and then realize you can’t use your VISA. I had been
able to use my credit card at one location, so I guess I forgot I
might not be able to use it at all of them. Oops!!!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/solo-in-the-netherlands-and-belgium-my-trip-report

There are 2 large supermarkets across from the Leiden train station, an Aldi and maybe a Jumbo. There is a small Albert Heijn express (to go items) inside the train station. All of these took US credit cards when I was there in fall 2024.

All the grocery stores we went to in Leiden in 2024 accepted our visas. There was a nice one close to the university, that was also adjacent to an atm. Wish I remembered the street . Happy travels!

The issue with US credit cards and Netherlands, that in the past, some grocery stores, market vendors, and even small shops did not accept credit cards. Sounds strange for a society that is largely cashless. But what they do accept is debit cards, mostly from Dutch and European banks. Credit card use among residents is actually quite low, traditionally they have almost exclusively used debit cards, same for many countries in Europe. Credit card use though is growing. Also a change is that previously Dutch cards were mainly Maestro/V Pay, more and more now are linked to the Mastercard and Visa networks.

If you are in touristed areas, then credit cards are usually accepted, get off the beaten path, shops cater to the locals, and may not.

We went to two grocery stores in October and both accepted CC. One was an Albert Heijn and the other was in the train station.

I spent about a month in the Netherlands last year. I went to many grocery stores, often Albert Heijns. I don't remember whether or where I grocery shopped in Leiden, but I never had a problem using my Visa credit card anywhere in the country.

Albert Heijn used to be problematic for using a credit card I believe but I think it's better now? I've always used a Visa debit card and never had a problem.