The two biggest parties in the pending coalition government have dropped their proposal to relax the rules requiring all companies to continue to accept cash.

The VVD and D66 withdrew their amendment ahead of Tuesday’s vote because there was not enough support in parliament.

Four in five payments in the Netherlands are currently electronic but the SP and SGP in particular argue that between one and two million people are strongly attached to cash because it “gives them a feeling of freedom and a grip on their spending”.

Caretaker finance minister Eelco Heinen was also not keen to change the rules, which would be out of sync with the EU.

He is, however, currently working on adding exceptions to the current regulations that would allow companies to opt out of accepting cash on safety grounds. Shops with fewer than four members of staff would be exempt, as would those open at night.

Crisis

Dutch households have been advised to stash away €70 per adult and €30 per child in cash to cover themselves financially during a crisis.

This amount, according to family spending institute Nibud, is sufficient to pay for goods and services for three days if digital payment systems are disrupted by a natural disaster, cyber attack or power outage.