sorry if this is a common question, but just thought I’d ask to hear about other people’s experiences with using cash vs a debit/credit card for general purchases in Europe.
I’m travelling to Europe at the end of this year, and I plan to get a travel debit card that specifically doesn’t charge a fee for ATM withdrawals and currency conversion (I’m travelling from Australia, so will need to convert every dollar I have).
I would ideally like to use this card for the majority of my purchases in the following countries:
\- Netherlands (Amsterdam)
\- Germany (Berlin; Munich)
\- Italy (Venice; Bologna; Rome)
\- Switzerland (Zermatt; Grindelwald)
\- France (Paris)
\- England (London)
However, I wanted to know how common it is for places in Europe (especially in the cities mentioned above) to reject payments made by card (i.e. preferring cash payments instead of card)?
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Assuming that I’m not booking any of these in advance online, the main types of general payments I will be making whilst in Europe (not including accommodation) are for:
\- food: at grocery shops/supermarkets, restaurants/bars/cafes, street food, christmas markets, etc.
\- transportation: public bus, metro/underground (inc. single tickets & multi-day passes), regional trains, uber/taxi, etc.
\- tips: for guided tours or anything else needed
\- city/tourist tax: for hostel accommodation mainly
\- general/other purchases: e.g. clothes shopping, buying street art (mainly in Montmarte, Paris), etc.
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I guess my main question is, do I actually need to carry cash with me whilst I travel across Europe these days?
FYI: I will have some cash with me in case of emergency, but I mean in terms of having money with me for general payments
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I know that individual stores will have different policies (in terms of accepting either cash or card for payments) that I won’t be able to predict, but i just wanted to gain a general understanding about how much cash is preferred over card payments for general payments in these specific European cities/countries?
Thanks a lot 🙂
29 comments
You can pay for almost everything by card if you want to,in those specific countries and cities.
I still use cash in street markets and bars, but even in many of those these days it’s possible to pay by card.
You should have no problem using card for most of these things but I’d still have some cash on you to play it safe.
Outside of touristy areas sometimes small businesses will only take local cards or cash.
Here in Denmark an increasing amount of restaurants and stores want to be able to refuse cash payment, since it’s a big bother and a security risk. Every store accepts card or payment with a mobile app.
French here, I have probably used less than €100 in cash over the past 5 years, and the only time I can remember is when a restaurant’s credit card terminal was not working so they asked us if we could pay in cash instead.
I’m told Norway is trying to eliminate cash entirely. That sounds like a way to starve the poor to death.
In the countries you listed, you can pay with card for pretty much everything.
In my country if you’re not shopping at a superstore or a mall, you need cash. Most restaurants offer card payments, but not all, so you have to ask in advance if it’s not in a tourist area.
I live in the Netherlands and use cash maybe 4 or 5 times a year. Pretty much everything can be done by debit card. Cash is pretty much universally accepted though. Supermarkets sometimes have “debit card only” checkouts, but it will never be the only checkout open.
A few years ago germany had quite a few cash only places, but that has been improving recently.
You should have cash when visiting markets, or minor shops or street art, but else you won’t need it.
The number of locations that accept cards have risen largely since Corona. You will still find location which don’t accept cards, but you can avoid them. But in Berlin and Munich you will have to search for them.
There are still some bars and small shops where only cash payments are allowed, but it’s not common anymore. Maybe more in rural regions. I can’t recall when I used cash the last time.
It might be that some shops will refuse certain kinds of cards. It’s quite common in Germany that shops only accept Girocard, not MasterCard or Visa. The same goes for the Netherlands, when I visited a few months ago, the Girocard worked everywhere, MasterCard not.
Of all these cities Berlin is where you might probably find some places still not accepting card payments. Cash is a big thing in Germany.
In Croatia most if not all stores accept card, caffes and restaurants less often especially in small areas, it’s cause if you work seasonally as most restaurants and caffes do in areas with less then 5 000 people, it’s not finanically viable. Bigger restarunats and caffes usually accept. Taxis never accept pretty much as far as I know. Ferry and ships tickets do, at least online if you buy. So cash is still very important here.
I can’t think of any s his inn the Netherlands refusing cards. Some places, especially restaurants, won’t even accept cash.
You’ll be fine in London without cash. I live there, and can’t remember the last time I needed cash in a shop, pub, cafe, restaurant etc. I never carry cash around when going out now.
All the things on your list should be possible with a card, including most market stalls. One thing from that list which stood out was the mention of tips:tipping is not common outside of restaurants here, and if you choose to do it there then it can be added to the bill and paid for as normal. A lot of restaurants will add a tip on to the bill by default, look out for that so you don’t pay it twice.
Also, all the public transport can be paid for by tapping a card on readers/ticket barriers, so there may not be a need to buy separate tickets when travelling around.
I live in the Netherlands and never carry cash with me – not even when I travel to London, other cities in the UK or even (this one is hard to believe) Germany. Over the last 2-3 years a lot has changed in DE. Even my 70+ dad now pays with his iPhone. But I’m not so sure about small kiosks if you only buy bubble gum.
In Hungary, retailers are obligated by law to let you pay by card. If you can’t, they are possibly operating illegally.
Like some of the other Dutchies said.. mostly card everywhere. If you do need cash.. here’s how you can find a cash machine..
[geldmaat](https://www.geldmaat.nl/information-english)
If you go to smaller places in Germany I’d recommend you take out some cash though. There’s still some restaurants and bars where they don’t take cards.
Hasn’t been the case in Denmark for 20+ years, or so, and Sweden is going completely cashless in some sectors.
In stockholm (sweden) alot of places will reject cash.
We changed bank notes and coins design 2015/2016, and at the store I work at sometimes I get a “oh thats right, we have new a new design now!” respons when I give them a 5sek for the WC-access.
Banks charge a fee for every bank transaction. I’m not from the places you listed, but I do work retail south-east of them. We frequently get tourists who pay 0,60 € for a single postcard with a card and while we do allow it, we’re not terribly happy about it. So perhaps still carry some small amounts of cash on you even though you could use card for almost any purchase.
In Bologna you wont have any problem paying by card unless you go in some small hidden store that COULD have a minimum amount to spend before you can pay by card Like 5-10 euros
In Italy there Is a law that makes obligatory for the shop owner to let customer pay by card if they want to
You won’t need cash at all in the Netherlands. You can pay even the smallest amount of money by card and this is often even encouraged. Especially in bigger cities some restaurants don’t even accept cash. Do note that credit cards are not commonly used here and you may not be able to pay with credit card everywhere. People usually pay by debit card or apple pay or whatever equivalent android has. Earlier this year, they started experimenting with being able to pay with your debit card on public transportation. Idk if this also applies to Amsterdam bc I know it doesn’t work everywhere yet, but it’s worth looking into. I’d also suggest visiting more than just Amsterdam but that’s up to you. Other cities that might be interesting are Haarlem, Leiden, Rotterdam, Utrecht and more. I always see people only visiting Amsterdam but you miss out on a lot by only visiting one city per country!
I think it’s sort of common courtesy to use cash for tiny purchases, like street food, small souvenirs, ice cream, etc. But for everything else you can absolutely pay with a card.
Just one weird thing: the hotel tax is cash only sometimes. Or it was for me once in Rome at least.
Nope hasn’t been the case for like over a decade in Sweden. You will be refused more if you try to use cash because more stores and places are card only. There’s no such thing as a store being cash only.
In London you can pay anything with a card, I go to the city centre everyday without a wallet, I only use my phone to make payments.
If you go into more rural areas you might need cash to buy a newspaper or something odd like that.
No idea why some people claim that you don’t need cash in Berlin. You need cash here or you will need to ask in advance if you can pay with cash at many bars, restaurants and smaller shops.
This is if you have Mastercard or Visa (other cards vary in viability):
Denmark is for all intents and purposes cashless.
London is not entirely cashless, but short of small shops, markets, and so on, you won’t need cash. It shifted quite drastically in this direction under the lockdowns, where cash was not always accepted for fear of contamination
Belgium is weird, as there are places that for some ungodly reason refuse Mastercard and Visa, and only take Maestro (I had that happen in a bar. We had to sit there while a friend looked for an atm)
Poland is a bit hit or miss. In the cities, most things should accept card, but the further out you go, the larger the chance is that they may not want it. Always keep some cash just in case
I very rarely carry cash these days, pretty much everywhere takes card. Especially in London you won’t need cash for anything apart from tips for tour guides maybe
Definitely bring cash to Berlin, and Germany in general. In the UK it’s the opposite, sometimes it’s hard to pay with cash and card is available almost everywhere with internet connection.