{"id":148701,"date":"2023-01-16T15:51:31","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T14:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=148701"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:35","slug":"students-from-outside-the-eu-struggle-with-nearly-cashless-campus-the-only-thing-i-can-eat-in-the-food-plaza-is-turkish-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/01\/16\/students-from-outside-the-eu-struggle-with-nearly-cashless-campus-the-only-thing-i-can-eat-in-the-food-plaza-is-turkish-food\/","title":{"rendered":"Students from outside the EU struggle with (nearly) cashless campus: \u2018The only thing I could eat in the Food Plaza is Turkish food\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

In most places on campus, it\u2019s not possible to pay with cash. As a result, students from outside the EU are hardly able to buy anything during their first few weeks at the university.<\/p>\n

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In many places at the university you cannot use a debit card.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>

We\u2019re cashless<\/em>, is the message displayed on the signs at numerous businesses on campus. Many people don\u2019t mind. But for Lizi Burduli (19), a second-year student in the International Bachelor\u2019s programme in Economics and Business Economics (IBEB) from Georgia, things were very uncomfortable during her first few weeks at the university. She had to wait a long time for her Dutch bank account. \u201cI had to ask fellow students who do come from the EU if they could pay for me, even though I didn\u2019t know them very well\u201d, she says. \u201cThat didn\u2019t feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nothing but Turkish food<\/h2>

Most places at the university no longer accept cash payments. Customers can still pay with cash at Campus Bikes, Hairdesign by Lydia, Spar, Erasmus Sport and the Has. The Canon Shop will soon only accept debit cards. Lizi: \u201cThe only thing I could eat in the Food Plaza is Turkish food.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018We don\u2019t want people to touch money and then prepare meals\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

If customers want to pay with cash in the Food Plaza, they need to have exact change. The main reason: food safety. \u201cWe don\u2019t want people to touch money and then prepare meals\u201d, says Marc van Hooijdonk of Tosti World, on behalf of businesses in the food court. Sustainability, costs and lost time also play a role. \u201cThe unnecessary fuel consumption for transport, the costs of collecting and delivering the money, and the amount of work are no longer in line with the times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opening an account <\/h2>

Nevertheless, international students want to pay with cash in the first period of the academic year, according to employees of various businesses on campus. This is because it often takes several weeks for students from outside the EU to get a citizen service number, which they need in order to open an account at major Dutch banks. \u201cI got my citizen service number a month after the start of the academic year, then I had to wait another two weeks for my bank account to be opened at ABN AMRO\u201d, Lizi says.<\/p>\n

Opening a bank account often takes longer for people who do not come from the EU. \u201cEU passports are highly standardised and can usually be verified entirely automatically by an EU bank, even remotely, via a mobile app\u201d, says the spokesperson for the Dutch Payments Association, an organisation that seeks to ensure an effective payments system. \u201cPassports from outside the EU come in all shapes and sizes and often need to be verified manually or by an external expert.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frustrating<\/h2>

While Lizi waited for her Dutch debit card, she was unable to purchase a calculator on campus for an exam. Because of this, she had to use the calculator on the computer. \u201cThat kind of calculator is awkward\u201d, she says. \u201cI typed in the wrong number during the exam, so I got a lower score.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018On campus I hardly bought anything or borrowed from friends, which was frustrating\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Cara Spall (26) also ran into problems during her first few weeks as a student in the Creative Studies programme. She brought \u20ac500 from her home country of Namibia, but could hardly spent it anywhere. \u201cI could use my own debit card, but the conversion fees were so high that a cup of coffee would end up costing at least twice as much\u201d, she says. \u201cI hardly bought anything on campus and I borrowed from friends, which was frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Cara, who is now a lecturer in Media and Communication, it felt \u2018strange\u2019 not being able to pay with cash on campus. \u201cIn Namibia it\u2019s the other way around: many people pay with cash, and sometimes using a debit card isn\u2019t even possible\u201d, she says. \u201cI hadn\u2019t taken that into account. I had other things on my mind, like finding a place to stay and getting health insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, she was able to use her Dutch bank account after just two weeks. \u201cI chose the online bank Bunq, because I didn\u2019t need a citizen service number to open an account.\u201d But because Bunq is only online, she couldn\u2019t go to an ATM to deposit the hundreds of euros she had in her pocket. \u201cSo in the beginning I mostly got my food from the market on the Binnenrotte.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forced<\/h2>

Shop owners on campus can decide whether to only accept debit card payments, according to a spokesperson for EUR. Furthermore, several companies that collect cash have closed in the past two years, leaving EUR unable to conclude a new contract for these services. Among other things, this has forced EUR to only accept debit card payments for parking on campus.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018When my friends and I finally got our bank accounts, we were so happy\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Economics student Lizi would have liked to see things turn out differently. \u201cIf you say that you\u2019re an international campus and there are lots of international students around, it would be nice if you\u2019d also offer more options for them during their first few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important that as many students as staff as possible are able to conveniently pay for things on campus, says the spokesperson for the Payments Association. \u201cFirst of all, make sure you accept as many card types as possible, including all major credit cards from outside the EU\u201d, the spokesperson recommends. \u201cIf that\u2019s not enough, then also make sure that the students and staff concerned can pay with cash.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celebration<\/h2>

For Lizi, getting her Dutch bank account was a celebration. \u201cWhen my friends and I finally had our bank accounts, we were so happy\u201d, she says. \u201cWe celebrated by using our debit cards everywhere on campus, including at the Has, where we always used to pay with cash. That was a really fun day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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