Your dollars won't work, your euros probably won't work, and your credit card possibly won't work.

The Netherlands is trying to go cashless, so many stores and restaurants will not take your physical euros. That might be workable for a tourist, except that in all likelihood they won't accept your Visa, Mastercard, or US debit card either.

Northern Europe has a separate system called "pinpas" (PIN-poss) which is kinda like a US debit card, but it's an entirely different technology. i.e. inasmuch as a US card reader can support credit and not debit and vice versa, a Dutch card reader can support pinpas and not credit. Pinpas is compatible with Maestro, so if you have the red & blue MasterCard symbol on your card, you're all set.

For everyone without Maestro, the best way to handle this is to carry a pocket full of euros just in case, and everywhere you go, before you start eating or shopping, just flash your credit card to the Dutch behind the counter and ask if it will work. They'll know.

• You can withdraw euros from most ATMs just using your regular debit card.
• Your bank usually gives you a more favorable rate than the guy at the airport.
• If your US credit card works at a store or restaurant, the card-reader will ask you to pay in euros or dollars. Choose euros for the best rate.
• There are likely small bank fees associated with all of the above transactions that won't hit your account immediately.

Tipping and Paying

Dutch don't tip that often, and if they do, it's about 5%

Their point-of-sale systems don't expect tips, so if you want to tip you need to catch the waitress in between the time she tells you the price and the time she enters it into the keypad so she can change it. This period usually lasts for about half a second. She'll say "the price is X" and you'll say "make that Y".

The Dutch word for cash register is "Kassa". The word for paying is "betalen".

It's unclear, even to locals, which restaurants take payment at your table and which take payment at the front counter. The staff generally will make you guess.

When you do pay, it will be via a handheld card reader. The registers and receipts are not designed for signatures and they don't usually carry around pens, so there's always a bit of a hassle when paying with a US card.