Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Finally we are accepted as First World citizens here in the Netherlands :p

oh, for those who don't know where to find The Netherlands, we are that little dot somewhere in the middle of Europe (use the zoom function on your iPhone :cool: )

And no, we are not the capital of Copenhagen.
A little dot where the word « freedom » still means something ;)
 
oh, for those who don't know where to find The Netherlands, we are that little dot somewhere in the middle of Europe (use the zoom function on your iPhone :cool: )

Went last year and loved it. Beautiful sights, friendly people, and wonderful food (I'm in love with poffertjes and stroopwafels now). Lots of places I could use Apple Pay also. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Geert76
Having had contactless payment in the NL for years, I'm not sure this adds much? Now I have to pull out my phone, or tap on my watch to call something up and then hold it near the device. Instead of holding the payment card/physical wallet to the device. Used it twice today and paying with the watch is often slightly faster than pulling out my wallet.
Looking forward to possibly using this when on holidays though.
 
Having had contactless payment in the NL for years, I'm not sure this adds much? Now I have to pull out my phone, or tap on my watch to call something up and then hold it near the device. Instead of holding the payment card/physical wallet to the device.
Holding the wallet near the reader is problematic since I have 4 contactless cards in my wallet. So you'd have to take the card out of the wallet first.

The biggest advantage though is not having to bring my wallet at all. Especially in summer when wearing shorts a wallet is a heavy, bulky thing to carry around.
 
The biggest advantage though is not having to bring my wallet at all. Especially in summer when wearing shorts a wallet is a heavy, bulky thing to carry around.

It's so much easier for me to push a button twice on my watch then get anything out of my wallet. When my card was compromised/cancelled and I had to wait for the bank to send me a replacement physical card I was shocked to learn that I could keep paying with the virtual card on my watch. I never expected that to be true.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Geert76
I love this kind of news. It gets a few replies and Apple gets another revenue stream trickling in. Then they report the numbers and people are surprised. This is great news.
 
Having had contactless payment in the NL for years, I'm not sure this adds much? Now I have to pull out my phone, or tap on my watch to call something up and then hold it near the device. Instead of holding the payment card/physical wallet to the device. Used it twice today and paying with the watch is often slightly faster than pulling out my wallet.
Looking forward to possibly using this when on holidays though.

I've said this many times here, Apple pay doesn't really add much in The Netherlands, it's not faster aside for Apple Pay on the Watch, actually that's also not true if you prepare yourself before the cashier asks for your payment, I always have my card in my hand before she/he even asks, tap the POS..done, Apple pay is not faster.
Convenient...yes, I admit that.
I got the message this morning just after it was "switched on", tried it for the first time a few hours later, it works, comes in handy, although I always carry my cards with me in my iPhone case.
It's convenient for larger purchases, there's a €25 limit on purchases, over it you need to input your PIN with a physical card.

As for comments on nu.nl on this topic, lots of morons there, claim Apple sells your data to third parties.
Lots of misinformation, like it costs a few % with a minimum of 25 cents which is not true.
 
Have to admit I was using Apple Pay with the Apple Watch without thinking about it in Amsterdam last week - seemed to work almost everywhere already.

For those who've not used it yet - you think it doesn't add much or that you won't use it, then 6 months later you use it everywhere out of habit. It's had particularly high success in London because you can use credit/debit cards at the gates on public transport rather than just a smartcard (although we have those too), so watches in particular are extremely convenient. It'll be interesting to see if that happens in the Netherlands too - I know the Smartcard system there already seems to work very well.
 
Have to admit I was using Apple Pay with the Apple Watch without thinking about it in Amsterdam last week - seemed to work almost everywhere already.

For those who've not used it yet - you think it doesn't add much or that you won't use it, then 6 months later you use it everywhere out of habit. It's had particularly high success in London because you can use credit/debit cards at the gates on public transport rather than just a smartcard (although we have those too), so watches in particular are extremely convenient. It'll be interesting to see if that happens in the Netherlands too - I know the Smartcard system there already seems to work very well.

That would be huge if that is the case, The Netherlands uses one transport card for the whole country, so if they add it it would probably one of the biggest rollout.
 
I've said this many times here, Apple pay doesn't really add much in The Netherlands, it's not faster aside for Apple Pay on the Watch, actually that's also not true if you prepare yourself before the cashier asks for your payment, I always have my card in my hand before she/he even asks, tap the POS..done, Apple pay is not faster.
Convenient...yes, I admit that.
I got the message this morning just after it was "switched on", tried it for the first time a few hours later, it works, comes in handy, although I always carry my cards with me in my iPhone case.
It's convenient for larger purchases, there's a €25 limit on purchases, over it you need to input your PIN with a physical card.

As for comments on nu.nl on this topic, lots of morons there, claim Apple sells your data to third parties.
Lots of misinformation, like it costs a few % with a minimum of 25 cents which is not true.

Apple pay is faster using the watch for sure, just a double click and done. I don't have to search for my cards, pull them out and put them back and not having to use a pin code.
It will be much more convenient also if they add more cards (business) and credit cards.
 
Good. Still waiting for it to launch here despite the announcement back in early April that it was coming soon. Have been using it though with a UK issued Monese card.
I’m still waiting for it to launch here in Mexico too, but no news on that yet. I only care because that will mean for more merchants to turn on their contactless readers. Other than that, I’m already have been using apple pay with a US issued card for the last three years.
[doublepost=1560276603][/doublepost]
Apple pay is faster using the watch for sure, just a double click and done. I don't have to search for my cards, pull them out and put them back and not having to use a pin code.
It will be much more convenient also if they add more cards (business) and credit cards.
I just love it. Even more so now that watchOS 5 finally enabled push notifications and the recent transaction list for purchases made using the apple watch (previously both features were only available for purchases made using the iphone).
[doublepost=1560276932][/doublepost]
Been using Garmin Pay (ABN/AMRO) with my D2 Delta for a few months now, and I love it!
Works everywhere where you can pay contactless.
So does Apple Pay. Today’s announcement only means Apple Pay can now be set up with bank cards issued in the Netherlands. Other than that, Apple Pay already did work everywhere contactless payment was accepted just like Garmin Pay.
[doublepost=1560277316][/doublepost]
Have to admit I was using Apple Pay with the Apple Watch without thinking about it in Amsterdam last week - seemed to work almost everywhere already.

For those who've not used it yet - you think it doesn't add much or that you won't use it, then 6 months later you use it everywhere out of habit. It's had particularly high success in London because you can use credit/debit cards at the gates on public transport rather than just a smartcard (although we have those too), so watches in particular are extremely convenient. It'll be interesting to see if that happens in the Netherlands too - I know the Smartcard system there already seems to work very well.
Yeah Apple Pay already worked in the Netherlands, it just couldn’t be set up with cards issued in the Netherlands. That’s what changes starting today.
 
Last edited:
Apple pay is faster using the watch for sure, just a double click and done. I don't have to search for my cards, pull them out and put them back and not having to use a pin code.
It will be much more convenient also if they add more cards (business) and credit cards.

How many times do I have to say it's not faster if YOU PREPARE YOURSELF by already having the card in your hands before the cashier even asks, Apple Pay is NOT faster, FACT.

Convenient, I guess so...not faster.

*Under €25 in the Netherlands no PIN is needed
 
  • Like
Reactions: Geert76
How many times do I have to say it's not faster if YOU PREPARE YOURSELF by already having the card in your hands before the cashier even asks, Apple Pay is NOT faster, FACT.

Convenient, I guess so...not faster.

*Under €25 in the Netherlands no PIN is needed
Convenient it is. And much more. Even if you were to prepare yourself while standing in line, which I usually do, it’s much easier to double press a button than it is to take out the wallet and pull out a card. Especially if you have more than one card in the wallet and need to search for the right one. Not to mention that apple pay has no maximum amount, as opposed to contactless cards. At the time of making the actual payment, however, I do agree that a contactless card is read by the store’s terminal just as fast as a mobile device or wearable would be.

Also, you’re not considering ladies, who often have to go through their purse to find the wallet before they can take out the card. They could really benefit from the convenience of the apple watch.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: PR1985
How many times do I have to say it's not faster if YOU PREPARE YOURSELF by already having the card in your hands before the cashier even asks, Apple Pay is NOT faster, FACT.

Convenient, I guess so...not faster.

*Under €25 in the Netherlands no PIN is needed
I use my watch, I don’t see much point in taking out my phone instead of my cards.
Using the watch is absolutely always faster than digging for my card thingie and taking out the right card. When you need a PIN because it’s over €25 it’s even worse. I never enter a those insecure PINs any more. It’s glorious.

I’ve been using Apple Pay in The Netherlands since last year March. Bunq, a local bank that operates internationally and has Apple Pay in Italy and Spain, pulled a stunt and explained how we could get it here by setting the phone region to Spain or Italy. I jumped right in, had been waiting for years already. Then ING, a really boring, slow and old fashioned big serious bank, that Apple cannot afford to ignore, who were still very slowly and reluctantly negotiating with Apple, threw a tantrum, stomped their antique wooden shoes and got Apple to make bunq put a stop to it. We can no longer sign up but it continues to work.
 
How many times do I have to say it's not faster if YOU PREPARE YOURSELF by already having the card in your hands before the cashier even asks, Apple Pay is NOT faster, FACT.

Convenient, I guess so...not faster.

*Under €25 in the Netherlands no PIN is needed
Watch: 2 clicks and Apple Pay is in standby for 60 seconds… I`m prepared with 2 clicks.
 
I use my watch, I don’t see much point in taking out my phone instead of my cards.
Using the watch is absolutely always faster than digging for my card thingie and taking out the right card. When you need a PIN because it’s over €25 it’s even worse. I never enter a those insecure PINs any more. It’s glorious.
Exactly. I’ve been using apple pay in Mexico for three years since I have US issued card and I love it. I though it wasn’t a good idea to wait until apple pay launched in Mexico and I was right: almost five years and still no word of it ever launching here at all (almost for sure it never will, seeing as it is).
[doublepost=1560287201][/doublepost]
Watch: 2 clicks and Apple Pay is in standby for 60 seconds… I`m prepared with 2 clicks.
As I said before, it’s especially great for ladies. No more digging in the purse for them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PR1985
Exactly. I’ve been using apple pay in Mexico for three years since I have US issued card and I love it. I though it wasn’t a good idea to wait until apple pay launched in Mexico and I was right: almost five years and still no word of it ever launching here at all (almost for sure it never will, seeing as it is).
[doublepost=1560287201][/doublepost]
As I said before, it’s especially great for ladies. No more digging in the purse for them.
… and for wheelchair users.
 
So a question for the locals here: did Apple Pay work at Albert Heijn for you? Just tried it here in Amsterdam East but it kept failing. In the end I just used my regular ING card which did work. Apply Pay worked elsewhere just fine though.

All in all, using Apple Pay is just slightly more convenient than using my card. It’s cool because it’s new, but objectively it doesn’t bring that much more to the table.
 
So a question for the locals here: did Apple Pay work at Albert Heijn for you? Just tried it here in Amsterdam East but it kept failing. In the end I just used my regular ING card which did work. Apply Pay worked elsewhere just fine though.

All in all, using Apple Pay is just slightly more convenient than using my card. It’s cool because it’s new, but objectively it doesn’t bring that much more to the table.

Albert Heijn, Amsterdam City Centre...working like a charm!
 
So a question for the locals here: did Apple Pay work at Albert Heijn for you? Just tried it here in Amsterdam East but it kept failing. In the end I just used my regular ING card which did work. Apply Pay worked elsewhere just fine though.

All in all, using Apple Pay is just slightly more convenient than using my card. It’s cool because it’s new, but objectively it doesn’t bring that much more to the table.
Apple Pay with bunq works everywhere that has contactless payments, except at Total who seem to disable anything fancy because it gets in the way of their own loyalty card stuff. Didn’t try ING yet because it will not install on the watch. It complains about the software version not being up to date. But iOS is up to date.
Watch: 2 clicks and Apple Pay is in standby for 60 seconds… I`m prepared with 2 clicks.
Watch: 2 clicks and Apple Pay is in standby for 60 seconds… I`m prepared with 2 clicks.
How many times do I have to say it's not faster if YOU PREPARE YOURSELF by already having the card in your hands before the cashier even asks, Apple Pay is NOT faster, FACT.

Convenient, I guess so...not faster.

*Under €25 in the Netherlands no PIN is needed
I generally don’t bother with cashiers. Too slow.
 
Apple Pay with bunq works everywhere that has contactless payments, except at Total who seem to disable anything fancy because it gets in the way of their own loyalty card stuff. Didn’t try ING yet because it will not install on the watch. It complains about the software version not being up to date. But iOS is up to date.



I generally don’t bother with cashiers. Too slow.
You have to update your watch.
 
That’s not what they say, but probably what they mean. I’m afraid to update my watch because it might break my bunq Apple Pay. Also I’m still on series 0, so an update might not be enough. Bunq is a much nicer bank than ING, I prefer to keep that working.
 
That’s not what they say, but probably what they mean. I’m afraid to update my watch because it might break my bunq Apple Pay. Also I’m still on series 0, so an update might not be enough. Bunq is a much nicer bank than ING, I prefer to keep that working.
I don´t think that this will break it. If you can update your Series 0, do it. If they don´t want that it is used, I think, it will be blocked server-side.
 
Last edited:
I don´t think that this will break it. If you can update your Series 0, do it. If they don´t want that it is used, I think, it will be blocker server side.
I was about to go for it yesterday.
I might still do it.

It’s time for a new watch too, Series 4 is a big upgrade. But maybe I should wait till September for series 5. I want steel, Darth Vader style, but that is not available here, because our luddite local carriers don't want to support eSIM. Maybe they will get with the program in September.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PR1985
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.