Mobile phone payments outstripped payments by debit or credit card in shops and other outlets for the first time last year, latest figures from payment services organisation Betaalvereniging Nederland have shown.

In 2025, six out of 10 payments in shops were made using a smartphone or a smartwatch.

Contactless payment, or swiping a debit or credit card across a terminal, was introduced in the Netherlands in 2015. It quickly took the place of the traditional method of inserting the card into the terminal and typing in the pin number.

In 2024, contactless payments still had the edge on phone payments but that has now been reversed.

In total, 5.38 billion payments were made using a smartphone, smartwatch or card last year, up 1.2% from 2024.