Dutch must look for European payment services, central bank says

Payment transactions should be processed by more European payment services because the current reliance on American credit card providers such as Visa and Mastercard could make them vulnerable to political blackmail, the Dutch central bank says in its latest mid-term payment facilities outlook.

Half of all payments go through Visa and Mastercard and these companies could be pressurised by the US government to stop processing payments in Europe. But a cyber attack or outage could also incapacitate the system, the bank’s Inge van Dijk told the AD.

People should always have at least €70 in cash per person at home to make sure they can buy essentials in case of a failure, the bank says. But in the longer run, more payment options should be explored as alternatives to Apple Pay, PayPal and Google Pay, such as Wero (formerly iDeal), she said.

Shopkeepers should also be better prepared and have several safe payment options, the central bank said. To keep shops open, they could opt for an offline pin service in which payments can go through once the internet connection has been restored.

Consumers could also have an account with more than one bank, and the cashpoint network should be increased, she said.

The cost for the innovations should be “evenly spread”, Van Dijk said. “The Netherlands has an efficient payment system with low tariffs. But new, better services for consumers and shopkeepers will up the costs.”