Most debit and credit card payments ever made

The Dutch paid yesterday with a pass more than ever. This was reported by the Dutch Payments Association. There were around 22.2 million transactions made with debit and credit cards, for a turnover of almost 740 million euros.

At peak times, payments were made 800 times a second. It happened at 12:15. In a normal week, about 700 times a second, payment is made by card.

€725 million was paid via regular debit cards and over €12.9 million via credit cards. Payments made with smartphones and smartwatches are also included.

According to the trade association, however, it was an intense week in the shopping streets. From Saturday to yesterday, more than 121 million debit card payments were made, equal to more than 3.5 billion in turnover. In a normal week of November, more than 103 million transactions are recorded, for an average of over 2.6 billion euros.

The previous daily record was set in 2019, the last year before the coronavirus pandemic. Approximately 21 million card transactions were processed on Saturday 21 December, for an amount of approximately 675 million euros. Last year, on the Saturday before Christmas (December 18), there were more than 20.6 million transactions, for a turnover of 656 million euros.

There may have been even more turnover today, the last day before Christmas. People lined up at various places to get into a store. Supermarkets and specialty shops sometimes had to wait before they could make the payment. Today’s figures are not yet known.

After two years of Christmas in isolation, it’s time for many people to unpack in the kitchen for a big dinner. But what do we pay attention to when we do Christmas shopping?