Cash vs. Credit in Europe

This is a much discussed topic, so you may want to search the forum for recent answers. In summary, you will need some cash but many places take credit cards. Traditionally, Germans pay in cash.

I stayed in eleven cities in Italy in June, and I usually always pay cash except for hotels and reservations I buy on-line - train tickets, activities, etc. None of the restaurants, shops, etc. had any issue with me paying cash.

I've lived in France for quite awhile, and I've never experienced anyone turning down cash. Kind of hard to visualize that, actually.

That said, I wouldn't pay a premium to load up on euros before arriving in Europe. Euros are easy to come by once in Europe.

My parents were in Sweden in May, and they had trouble spending the cash they withdrew. Most places would not take cash. But then, that was Sweden. In France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, cash is definitely still welcome. I assume the same for Austria, no idea for Hungary.

We generally take foreign cash with us; however, if credit is the desired form of payment in Europe, then we won't need to take as much. Also, I'm wondering if taxis will now take credit cards; the article did not discuss taxis.

See the entire topic in complete context. Read Rick's full article, look for updates form the RS crew, study other travel forums especially those devoted to analyzing travel credit cards.

The old advice on cash is to acquire it locally upon arrival from an ATM.

Tap or even tapless transactions are the norm in most regions and businesses. The tech is much more prevalent than in the States. If you don't have a tap card or contactless method (such an Apple iPhone), get one and practice using it before you depart.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/cash-or-credit-card-in-germany-and-austria

Pretty sure this still depends on the country.

Post-covid I've only been to Portugal and Greece. In both cases I was able to use credit (tap to pay) almost everywhere but ran into a couple random establishments each that were cash-only. I think I COULD have used cash most places, but credit was easier and seemed to be preferred. Pre-covid, this was similar except in Austria and Germany, which in 2019 were very cash-heavy compared to other places. Meanwhile, Iceland was so heavily credit card based that I had a hard time using the equivalent of roughly $200 I got out in a week. I don't know if that has changed in either case, probably not too much.

Pretty sure this still depends on the country.

And I'm pretty sure this also depends even more on how you travel. If you stay in mainline In-ter-na-tion-al hotels, they probably take credit cards, but there is an even bigger pool of small places that don't. And they are far less expensive to stay in. In twenty some years traveling around Germany and surrounding countries, I have spent a lot of nights in Privatzimmer and Mom&Pop Gastehäuser, almost none of which take credit cards. I've had many places inform me after booking or after arriving that they take only cash.

And I've saved a huge amount to money by staying in these places that don't take plastic.

Just returned from Germany and Italy. Other than a few air bnbs that we prepaid online, we used primarily cash which was welcome everywhere we went. We did not visit large tourist cities - were in smaller towns/ areas visited primarily by other Europeans. They were happy to accept cash- no problem.

Hungary
Cash: day guides, some off the beaten path entrance fees, tips (you can't always up thr tap card for the tip), small towns and mom and pop shops on rare occasions, any time you want to pay and leave quickly.
Credit Card: everything else including taxis.
Tap Card: universal
Currency: Forint, not Euro. If euros are accepted, you are in tourist central and you will pay for it.
Source: Any ATM, but best to use a bank ATM.
Pocket cash: 20.000 forints (about $50)

Norway is so card-focused that it is very difficult to find a bank ATM. Sweden seems not quite so cash-averse, but there are plenty of places (including some major museums) with "We are cash-free" signs. I suspect those two countries are at the far edge of the cash/credit continuum.

Even in traditionally cash-based Germany, there is a move towards card payment. Same small restaurant in Passau, Bavaria, where we had to pay cash in 2018 now accepts credit cards. During a one week visit in May this year, I spent less than 30 € cash (in two local bakeries). All other food and B&B was paid with credit card (tap to pay or PIN, depending on the amount).

London in May. Credit or debit card worked everywhere. Several places had “card only” policy.

"I've never experienced anyone turning down cash"

That may or may not be in play at merchants but it's not about cash in general, it's about moving around with the least amount of cash and utilizing the convenience of CCs and DCs, particularly the Contactless Pay feature - be as miserly as you can be with cash.

I definitely ran into a few card-only establishments in Iceland. Mostly in very rural areas, I’m betting that getting to a bank for deposits/withdrawals of cash was expensive or difficult so they did card only. Also things like parking kiosks at popular sights were unmanned and some did not have a cash option.
Not in any other country though (I have not been elsewhere in Scandinavia so can’t speak to those countries).

In places like Greece and Italy many of the mom and pop places take and prefer credit. It’s certainly not only big international establishments. Of course, others prefer cash. Moral of the story: have both but don’t get too much cash for short trips before you see the situation on the ground.

Hi Carol,
I think it depends on the country that you're traveling to, but in general, the Scandinavian countries prefer credit and other places cash is fine. It seemed to be like that in recent years pre-covid also. Happy Travels!

So, are businesses who won't take cash generally posting this information at the door, or do you have to find out when paying? I get that some populations are moving to card-only, but I think my (the customer) preference should matter too.

To me it looks like people who prefer card transactions for everything, do so to simplify the process and avoid counting. I don't find cash transactions to be onerous.

In Germany and Austria you just might be told especially in restaurants or eateries that your credit card won't be accepted when you give your card to pay.. I've seen this several times, both in so-called tourist areas and non-tourist businesses. If the business takes both cash and a credit card as payment in Germany, I'll pay with cash. They will stay with preferring cash...good.

In other countries I'm more likely to use the credit card, just depends.

Since your itinerary includes Germany and Austria, have the cash on you,

Definitely depends on the country and where you are spending your money. We just got back from Spain and Portugal and found that Spain was very credit card friendly, though happily took cash whereas Portugal was very cash friendly. We were able to use credit cards at larger places, but many restaurants ONLY took cash.

We did take Uber a few times and of course, that is paid on your account. We paid for taxis by credit card when we were in Italy in 2018.

Thanks to all who responded to my inquiry--some very helpful information here! And yes, I did find a similar posting from someone who read the same article (I'm still trying to find my way through this website :), so sorry for any redundancy).

So it appears that the best option is to be prepared with both credit cards and cash, which we usually do anyway.

Thanks again, everyone, and safe travels!