Originally Posted by
RTW1
It's all about volume... The current payment structure works for 99.9% of transactions so there is no real incentive to implement more costly payment methods like accepting credit cards.
And the NS-machines at Amsterdam Schiphol and Centraal have been the exception accepting credit cards for a while, simply use those and pay the € 0,50 extra fee.
And in March 2014 they have expanded the option to:
Amsterdam Duivendrecht,
Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena,
Amsterdam Sloterdijk,
Amsterdam Zuid,
Rotterdam Centraal,
Den Haag Centraal,
Utrecht Centraal,
Eindhoven,
Arnhem,
Maastricht,
Groningen,
Hengelo and
Roosendaal.
So not so much to complain about these days.
I appreciate NS' most timid attempt to accommodate international travelers. The fact remains that they are still significantly behind the railways of CH, DE, AT, IT, ES, FR, UK, IE, NO, SE, FI, DK, BE when it comes to the ease of ticketing. For these other countries I can buy tickets online with a US credit card. NL is the only central European country where this is not possible.
I have no problem with NS' desire to keep costs low. I get that. But this should not come at the expense of inconveniencing international travelers. The website should offer an option to pay with credit card for a small extra fee. NS could pass on the credit card costs to the customer. Many would not mind an extra 2.5% charge to avoid looking for a ticket machine and learning how it works after a long flight into AMS. Having a pre-printed ticket (or, even better, an e-ticket on a iPhone app as in CH) could make the difference between catching the 8:39 train vs. the 9:09 train out of Schiphol. I think that a lot of international travelers would agree that this is worth an extra 50 eurocents.
Thanks for considering my perspective also.