I have recently come back from a visit to Amsterdam and read this thread with interest before going. Don’t use Monzo’s services but I thought I’d share my experiences, as they might be of interest. The card I used was a Mastercard debit on a current account with Metrobank. We mainly were in the city centre, but did venture to other parts of the Netherlands like Rotterdam and some places further out.
Amsterdam Centraal station - MC accepted at both the ticket machines and counters with no problem. Ticket machines for the trams (GVB) and on-board tram at the info desk, no issues with MC, you still need to buy a paper ticket/pass to ride but contactless is accepted where under €25.
Conexxion buses also accept MC, although it is slightly strange seeing a pinpad on the bus as we seem to be all contactless here in the UK where accepted with no pin.
Toilets in station - used MC fine on the turnstiles with no issue, but the contactless function was broken on some of them. Always good to have some shrapnel in euros for this purpose as they do not give you change but you get a 50 cent voucher to use in the station.
Most places seemed to be fine with MC debit and happily accepted. However certainly for the smaller independent/niche shops as said above they are Maestro debit or cash and no MC.
Interestingly, there was one place where you could pay contactless over the limit but just had to type in your pin.
We also got some snacks and food from various Albert Heijns - the smaller ‘to go’ ones found in the central areas and at stations, all accepted MC at the counter and on the self service checkout. The bigger Albert Heijn near Centraal station has no issues with MC acceptance on self service. All appears to be card only and cash not accepted at the self service.
Restaurants tend to be hit and miss, some loathe splitting the bill and insist on one payment method (either card or cash) for the entire bill. Whereas others are happy to accept part payment via a mix of card and cash. Do have some cash to hand for this very reason if you are eating together.