Pinning is winning ground in the Netherlands. Last year there were 1.6 billion transactions. This has now risen to 2.2 billion, according to figures from the Netherlands Bank.

However, cash remains the most popular form of payment. There were 4.4 billion cash transactions last year totalling €53bn. In 2010 the figure was €81bn.
Women, older people and the less well educated more often pay cash, says the bank. As do people living in the southern provinces.