Why is my visa gift card being declined when i have money

In the Netherlands, cash isn’t king – Maestro is. But, while cash is also widely accepted, you may be surprised when arriving at this popular country that Mastercard, Visa, and American Express are often not.

So, what do the Dutch use, and why are you being left red-faced and unable to pay at the local supermarket?

Maestro, please 

So, why don’t your bank cards work in the Netherlands? The majority of the Dutch use Maestro, a payment platform owned by Mastercard. Maestro is a debit card system that is similar to Visa or Mastercard, which most comparable countries use.

Whether a shop will accept or decline your foreign card is completely up to the owner. Credit card transactions cost the owner a lot more than debit card sales, and the Dutch love to save money.

Communication breakdown

The way different cards talk to credit card machines and the corresponding banks is also a point of trouble.

Maestro cards work on a single-message debit system, where when you swipe your card the money moves from your bank account to the merchant.

However, most other payment platforms now rely on dual-message debit and credit cards, where when you swipe your card your bank makes a “promise” to the merchant that the money will be there.

A few days later the merchant will present these “promises” to the bank, and collect their dues. This is why credit transactions typically show as “pending” and offer an “available” and “current” balance.

What does that mean for you? Well, it doesn’t bode well if you don’t have a Maestro card in the Netherlands.

But my card is still a debit card?!

Why don’t your bank cards work in the Netherlands when they’re debit cards? Sorry, that’s tough luck. Even if you have a Visa Debit card or a Debit Mastercard it doesn’t matter — Dutch stores will treat it as a credit card and may decline it.

READ MORE | Money transfers in the Netherlands: the easy (and cheap!) guide

Dutch people typically don’t like credit cards in general because the Dutch are very debt-adverse people. In fact, in Dutch, the word for debt — schuld — also has another meaning: guilt.

As a rule of thumb, if the store services a large portion of international customers (for example, at tourist locations or similar) they will accept Visa, Mastercard, and sometimes American Express. But, bizarrely, some major chains will refuse these and only take Maestro (Albert Heijn, we’re looking at you. 👀 )

Okay, so what’s the deal with iDEAL and Tikkie then?

You’re online, creeping around doing a bit of splurge shopping. Stoked with your purchases, you click on the magical checkout button to send the items fluttering to your door. Suddenly, “huh? iDEAL only?”

With online shopping basically made for credit cards, and the Dutch not liking credit cards, these totteringly-tall people needed to find an alternate solution that would still let them fulfil their online shopping desires. That’s where iDEAL came in, way back in 2005.

iDeal utilises online banking to make a direct transfer to internet vendors via a Dutch bank account. Sound eerily familiar? Well, it certainly shares similarities with Maestro’s immediate transfer from one bank account to the other.

However, some websites only accept iDEAL, which means you need to have an online bank account, which means — you need a Dutch bank account. Yeesh!

READ MORE | What is Tikkie? How to use the Dutch’s favourite payment system

So how can I spend all my hard-earned euros? 

Let’s be honest. If you can’t get a Maestro only card from your home bank then you’re left trying to get a Maestro card in the Netherlands. The easiest solution then is to open a Dutch bank account.

READ MORE | These are the best banks for expats in the Netherlands

Finally, if you can go without online shopping at some retailers you may just find that cash is still king — but, if you’re averse to paying stodgy ATM fees and against carrying stashing large amounts of cash, this probably isn’t for you.

It’s still manageable to get by in the Netherlands without a Maestro card or iDeal — but be prepared for some occasional disappointment (or embarrassment!) when left unable to pay. 😬

What’s your experience with banking cards in the Netherlands? Tell us in the comments below!

Editor’s Note: this article was originally published in March 2019, but was fully updated in March 2022 for your reading pleasure. 

Samantha Dixon 🇦🇺

Sam isn’t great at being Dutch. Originally hailing from Australia, she came to study in the Netherlands without knowing where the country was on a map. She once accidentally ordered the entire ice-cream menu at Smullers. She still can’t jump on the back of a moving bike. But, she remains fascinated by the tiny land of tall people.

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