The Netherlands, just as most other countries within the EU do not rely much on the AmEx/Visa/Mastercard payment network, but on V-Pay (VISA) or Maestro (Master

The Netherlands, just as most other countries within the EU do not rely much on the AmEx/Visa/Mastercard payment network, but on V-Pay (VISA) or Maestro (Mastercard). Those are direct debit transactions which cannot be reversed unlike CC transactions. The advantage for shops is, that the costs are lower than for CCs. In general, Europe isn't used to paying ordinary everyday items with a credit card, which is why grocery shops simply don't accept them.