Holiday pay drives Tikkie record: over €43 million paid in a single day
- Products and services
Hans Sjouke Koopal
Sr Press Officer Private Banking, Personal & BB
Dutch consumers made extensive use of Tikkie, ABN AMRO’s payment app, around the time holiday pay was paid out. Friday 22 May was Tikkie’s busiest payment day of the year after King’s Day. On that day, 681,160 Tikkie payments were completed, 39% more than on an average day in 2026. The average payment amount was also significantly higher than usual: €63.22 compared with an average of €51.58. Last Friday also set a new record: a total of €43,064,999 was paid via Tikkie in a single day. Never before has such a large value of Tikkie payments been settled in one day.
In the days surrounding the holiday pay payouts, activity on Tikkie remained noticeably high. Friday 22 May, with 681,160 payments, was the busiest holiday pay day, but the number of payments stayed elevated in the following days. For example, more than 616,000 Tikkies were still paid on Tuesday 26 May—remarkably high for a Tuesday. According to Tikkie, this is likely because this year’s holiday pay coincided with the Whitsun (Pentecost) weekend and not everyone received their payment at the same time. While some people received their holiday pay on Friday, others only had it deposited on Tuesday.
Holiday spending surges
In particular, Tikkies with holiday-related descriptions rose sharply. The number of paid Tikkies containing the word “holiday” increased by 182% compared with a normal day. The average amount of these payments was also 24% higher than usual. That people quickly shifted into a summer mindset was also evident from the descriptions used in Tikkies. Words such as “ice creams”, “terrace”, “BBQ”, “flip-flops”, “sun cream” and “beach” appeared strikingly often.
Tikkie also saw increases in other categories:
‘Car’: +64%
‘Gift’: +20%
‘Meal out’: +12%
Some specific descriptions stood out even more. For instance, the number of Tikkies containing “gift trainers” rose by 536%, and “teacher appreciation day” (+279%) also appeared far more frequently.
“Holiday pay remains the moment for many people in the Netherlands to make larger purchases,” said Moreno Kensmil of Tikkie. “We see that reflected in the sharp rise in Tikkies for holidays, gifts, dining out and other summer-related spending.”
Nearly eight Tikkies per second
On the peak day, an average of 7.88 Tikkies were paid per second. This makes holiday pay one of the biggest annual peak moments for Tikkie. Only King’s Day generated more Tikkie payments in a single day this year.
The average value of a Tikkie paid on the holiday pay day has also been rising for years. In 2022, this figure was €38.29; it has now increased to €63.22.