Keep some cash under your mattress, says Dutch central bank

Families should have enough cash set aside to last them three days in case of an emergency, the central bank of the Netherlands warned today.

It advised people to keep €70 per adult and €30 per child safe in hard currency in case electronic payments systems go down.

The bank cited the threat of cyberattacks — a growing risk given the increasingly fraught geopolitical situation — as one reason for consumers to stay prepared.

In April, a power blackout in Spain and Portugal caused severe but ultimately short-lived problems with payments systems.

The cash that’s set aside should be enough to cover “the minimum necessary expenses for a period of three days, such as for water, food, medicine, and transportation.”

The Dutch central bank also had some advice for merchants: They should have alternative payment systems in place, like scannable QR codes, in case point-of-sale terminals don’t work.

In March, the European Commission published a preparedness plan that recommended citizens stock three days’ worth of food to ensure supplies in case of emergencies like war or natural disasters.