Amsterdam, 22 May 2007. At 1 p.m., Estelle Gullit will use her debit card to pay for a bottle of water in the Dirk van den Broek SRV mobile shop.

Estelle is demonstrating that small amounts can also be paid by debit card. This debit card (PIN) transaction kicks off a new debit card promotional campaign. Specially developed promotional material is the first phase of this campaign. The material – which uses several slogans – lets businesses tell their customers that they prefer debit card payments to cash.

Debit card payments for safety
From the end of May, Dutch retailers can order promotional material from Currence the owner of PIN. Dirk van den Broek is the first supermarket chain to use the new campaign message. “Debit card payments help the safety of both consumer and retailer. The more that is paid by debit card, the less cash we have in the store, and so there is less chance of crime”, explained the director, Dirk van den Broek.

Using a debit card without paying extra
Most consumers use their debit cards for payments over twenty euros. Consumers often still pay smaller amounts in cash. A significant reason for this is that, in some shops, customers have to pay extra when paying a smaller amount by debit card. This is changing rapidly. More and more shops (especially large ones) now accept debit cards for any amount, even for very small purchases, as Estelle Gullit showed in the Dirk van den Broek mobile shop. “Using a debit card is the easiest, safest and most efficient and inexpensive way of paying and so it is the spearhead in reducing expensive and unsafe cash”, says Bob Goulooze. The new promotional material can be ordered on the website from 31 May.