Dutch banks lost some €38m last year because of skimming – the process of copying bank cards by attaching scanners to ATM machines and other readers, the banking association said on Wednesday.

In total, 32,000 bank cards were copied, losing an average of €1,100 per card. The total damages bill is up 16% on 2008.
The banking association hopes the introduction of microchips to replace the current magnetic strips on cards will reduce the problem. Cards still carry magnetic strips because many EU countries are not yet ready to make the switch, news agency ANP said.