🇳🇱 Monzo in The Netherlands [Wiki]

[cpicklee]

This is a wiki crowdsourced by the Monzo Community to help you travel with Monzo.

Just like Wikipedia, anyone can edit it to help out others. If you have any tips or feedback for visiting The Netherlands with Monzo, please feel free to edit this guide. You can also add a comment or question below — someone will then incorporate your comment into the main text below and then delete your comment. To create your own “Monzo in …” guide if one doesn’t already exist, just copy this template into a new post and write away!

Safe travels!

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Currency

The Netherlands use the Euro (€)

Monzo users pay the MasterCard exchange rate with no added fees.

Card usage

Although cashless transactions in the Netherlands are the norm, foreign card acceptance is generally a bit of a lottery. The concept of a debit card from Mastercard or Visa is not widely understood — often you’ll be told “we don’t take credit cards” and they only accept Mæstro. Payments will sometimes work and sometimes not, but there unfortunately does not seem to be much rhyme or reason. Foreign card usage in tourist heavy areas are much more likely to work. Nonetheless, the situation is improving.

Paying by contactless often works — if they support it. (Most contactless limits are €25). In most stores tap your card on the left hand panel of the machine - sometimes you need to enter your pin as well.

Many other places, especially in larger cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht now only accept card payments, no matter how small the value of the transaction. Monzo seems to work fine here.

Ticket machines at Amsterdam Centraal work with problems but you will have to pay fees.

Ticket machines at Schiphol train station (airport) and across the rest of the country charge €0.50 to use “credit cards” i.e. Visa/Mastercard. Maestro is free to use. You can only pay with coins at some machines, so best to get cash out at the nearby ATMs and go to customer services to buy a ticket. Metro ticket machines don’t have this charge.

Recommend getting tickets that cover your whole stay since single trip ticket prices are expensive, eg 2/4 day tickets- these cover the buses, trams, and metro. If you run into problems at ticket machines don’t expect staff to be around much unless it’s a major station (Centraal station), you often see people barge through the barriers without paying as well.

In Rotterdam, tickets bought on the tram can only be paid for in cash - €3.50 for a ticket valid for unlimited use for 2 hours. It is better to buy a 24 hour Disposable OV-Chpkaart from a ticket machine at a metro station. These cost €8 and you can pay using a Monzo card with no trouble.

ATMs

ATMs are a similar story to general card acceptance. ABN Amro, ING and Travelex machines work fine. Rabobank don’t work. Managed to get money from a Rabobank ATM on 2018-08-24 without problem.

Payment and withdrawal limits

All Monzo cards have some payment and withdrawal limits. To check yours before you leave, tap “Account” under the picture of your card and then “Spending and card limits”.

Crowdsourced merchant data

The Monzo merchant data is often incorrect (eg. the map shows the wrong location or the name of the place is not correct). Please submit improvements to this data so it can get better for future visitors.

Miscellaneous

If you visit the Van Gogh museum, book tickets online and save to Apple Pay / Google Pay. Price is €17 for adults. You will spend up to 1-2 hours waiting if you buy tickets on the spot.

Just like the ticket machines at many train stations, when booking train tickets online, you need a Dutch bank account for the NS site. There is a handy day train pass for €19 with a free cake and drink (http://m.spoordeelwinkel.nl/product/dagje-uit-laplace) which allows you to travel anywhere in the Netherlands. This is handy as train prices can be very expensive between cities (cheapest option is sometimes already €40 for return tickets). You can only pay with a Dutch account or some sort of coupon and the site for the page is solely in Dutch Booking tickets on the NS app can be paid for with any card/PayPal/ etc., but not for this deal.

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To edit this guide, just tap the pencil icon below. Alternatively, add a reply with your comments and someone from the community will incorporate your suggestions into the guide and then delete your comment.

[timvs (Tim)]

Just a bit of an update here - as of 2018, every Albert Heijn I have visited accept Mastercard Debit, however I can confirm that otherwise, the Netherlands are still one of the hardest countries to use a non-Maestro debit card in, the biggest issue being using busses. Always make sure you’re carrying a bit of cash!

[Taylous (Tayla smith)]

2019 - Update to this part of the post.

“It’s impossible to use Monzo cards in most Albert Heijn supermarkets as they are not accepted - only Maestro debit cards. Self-service tills are a no-no so you’ll need to withdraw cash and use the staffed tills with longer queues. The same will be true anywhere that says they only take debit cards.“

Albert Heijn do accept Monzo I have been there every day for a week so far contactless and pin and worked everytime.

[chewhelen]

Just back from 4 days in Amsterdam. No problems using Monzo anywhere except hiring bikes on Marken (cash only) and one gift shop which had a lower spending limit for all cards.

[Jojo (Jo)]

We got to Leiden on Wednesday and attempted to do a supermarket shop in Albert Heijn. Monzo wouldn’t work, and neither did any of my other visa or MasterCard credit or debit cards. The assistant advised us to withdraw cash from the ING cash machine in store and pay that way. I wouldn’t bank on your monzo working in most places tbh.

[Rino1]

With regards to the OVB Chipkaart, if you choose the ‘Anonymous’ version which costs €7.50, you can travel swiftly on trains buses and trams. You MUST have at least €20 on your card to travel on trains. Use your Monzo card to top up at machines in stations (Note: they don’t use the words ‘top up’, it’s something like’buy products’…)The card and anything left on it is valid for 5 years.

[Rino1]

Also, the Albert Heijn stores seem to take Monzo in Amsterdam but not in Maastricht. V odd that a chain has different rules in different cities. Btw, going back to the Chipkaart, you can put money on your Chipkaart on the bus using your Monzo card! Just ask the driver

[hybridace101]

Can one use foreign debit/credit cards on the NS app?

[joostschuur]

Tried my Monzo card at an Albert Heijn in Eindhoven and it did not work either