The OV-chipkaart, and the card replacing it

NS, the Dutch national railway, sets out the two card types still in use:

• Personal OV-chipkaart — €7.50, registered to your name with a photo, and often free with an NS season ticket (except Flex Basis and Flex Weekend Voordeel). It's the card that holds season tickets and discounts, and if it's lost or stolen your balance is protected within 24 hours and refunded. It's sold through ov-chipkaart.nl rather than by NS.
• Single-use chip card — a paper ticket with a chip for one journey, sold at NS machines and shops, which often carries a €1.50 surcharge.

If you travel on balance, NS advises keeping at least €20 on the card if you don't have a season ticket.

The anonymous OV-chipkaart is no longer on sale. If you already have one, NS says you can keep travelling with it until the end of 2027.

Sources: NS — Travelling with your OV-chipkaart; NS — OV-pas; Translink — OVpay; all read 7 October 2026.

After almost 15 years, NS says, the OV-chipkaart is being phased out in favour of the OV-pas. Translink, the company behind both, says the OV-pas will be introduced widely across the Netherlands during 2026, under the OVpay banner.

From a traveller's point of view, not much changes — it's still one card for train, metro, tram and bus. The difference is behind the scenes: your details are stored in a secure online database rather than on the card, so more can be managed online, and NS says a digital card for your phone's wallet will follow.

A few practical points from NS:

• if you have an NS season ticket, keep using your OV-chipkaart until NS tells you to switch
• without a season ticket, you can order an individual OV-pas at OVpay.nl
• card readers no longer show your balance at check-out — you check journeys and costs in Mijn NS or on ovpay.nl

For anyone new to the Netherlands, the simplest option is often the card already in your wallet. NS says you can check in and out with a contactless debit card, credit card or phone — nothing to activate, just tap in and tap out with the same card.

The trade-off: you travel 2nd class without any discount. All of a day's fares are taken from your account in a single payment the next day, with a reference starting NLOV.

That makes the bank card ideal for occasional trips, and the OV-chipkaart or OV-pas the better choice once you commute or want a discount subscription.