Bank

Before you come to the Netherlands, the TU/e will send you an email to help to arrange a Dutch bank account for you. You can find more information and guidelines on the TU/e website under Bank account.

If this is not the case and you must arrange your Dutch bank account by yourself, you can quickly do this by contacting one of the many Dutch banks such as Rabobank or ING.

When you arrive in the Netherlands, it may take a while until the city council issues you a social security number (BSN). A BSN is usually essential to be able to open a bank account in the Netherlands. As an alternative, Bunq is a mobile-only bank that offers a service whereby you can open an account and provide your BSN up to 90 days later.

Shopping and Paying

Most shops in the Netherlands, and Europe in general, do not accept credit cards (e.g. VISA, Mastercard, etc.). This lack of acceptance is valid even for VISA debit and Mastercard debit since these cards still use a dual-message system and therefore, from the merchant's perspective, are still credit cards (this article provides an excellent explanation on the differences).

However, almost all places in the Netherlands accept payment by Maestro debit cards, with some choosing to forgo cash altogether, meaning you do not always have to have money on you. The choice to forgo cash also applies to vending machines, many of which by now only accept contactless payments.

It is also important to note that most shops will not accept banknotes of €100 or more, due to cases of fraud in the past.