Appreciate any recent experiences you may have with tapping credit cards vs. paying cash. We are headed to London/Scotland in a week and are wondering whether they, like most of Europe, have quickly gone to tapping credit cards vs. cash payment at restaurants, coffee shops, etc.?
Thanks for your feedback
I live in the UK and I have used cash once in the last year. We’re now such a card-centric place that you’ll find public toilets that are now tap and pay, also many market traders. Even Big Issue sellers and buskers seem to have card machines these days.
Most of us Brits are more likely to use their debit card rather than credit card.
Very little cash is used. On my most recent UK trip I only found one location that would only accept cash (a fish and chips food truck) and multiple locations that would only accept cards. I would have £20 in pocket just in case, but you may very well end the trip with it still in your pocket.
We were in London this past April. My husband took out 100£. He likes to have cash in his pocket. We never needed it. We ended up spending most of it at the airport on Candy.
"Most of us Brits are more likely to use their debit card rather than credit card."
Really? the only time I ever use my debit card is to take out a little cash occasionally - I still have a little need for it. All my card expenditure goes on my credit cards - that's how my wife and I are flying to Mallorca next week for £1 each.
Credit cards are preferred by some people but the majority of card transactions in the U.K. by a long way are on debit cards. Either is fine. The only one you may have problems with is American Express which is sometimes not accepted.
There have been a few posts similar to yours recently about cash vs credit cards in the UK. Being as you did not specify a preference, and I am not posting to give one.....We spent a week in London then another two weeks traveling throughout England this past June. There were only two places that required I use a credit card, not including the tube, a ice cream cart outside a museum and another small sidewalk shop. Other than that there were no issues using either cash or a credit card so whatever your payment preference is you should not have a problem. And as most here do, I get my cash from a bank ATM in country using a debit card.
Really? the only time I ever use my debit card is to take out a little cash occasionally - I still have a little need for it.
Yes, really. But note I said “most.” Not “everyone.”
I was making the point that a lot of Americans on this forum ask whether it’s cash or credit card, whereas debit card is definitely much more common for most (not all, obviously) British people.
I just returned from 11 days in London (and a few day trips). I used my credit card to tap and pay for EVERYTHING, including 20p to use a bathroom in Regent's park. The only place that requested cash was at one of the colleges in Oxford (5GBP). I had 15GPB left over from a previous trip so I used that. Even when I bought something that cost 1-2 GPB at a cafe, I paid with CC.
I haven't had a credit card since my early twenties, only a debit card. I'm probably a bit of an outlier, but much more common not to have any credit cards at all in the UK (and other parts of northern Europe) than it is in the US I'd imagine.
I got interested in the stats on this.
In May 2023 in the UK there were 1368 million contactless debit card transactions and 223 million contactless credit card transactions. Looking at the table, it seems that there were less than 600 million contactless debit card transactions in May 2020.
I’m looking at the table marked Contactless Card Transactions on this document. In response to Gerry’s observation, it seems that there are 101 million debit cards in the UK and 58 million credit cards. Which means people have multiple debit cards, or I’m misreading it…
https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/system/files/2023-08/Card%20Spending%20Update%20-%20May%202023.pdf
Personally I love using my debit card. I check my bank app on my phone daily, and I keep far better track of my spending than I would if I were using cash.
Those are interesting stats. For me, the use of a credit card is the way to go. I too have an app where I can check my credit card balance and transactions instantaneously. Plus, I get points with every credit card transaction which has resulted in redemption of travel purchases (I can usually get one flight and one hotel stay of three days reimbursed through the use of credit card per trip). I also can use them to redeem for gift card, which comes in handy and saves money. I pay the balance off every month, and never have an issue with any additional fees. Plus, no transaction fees for international purchases which I would have with use of my debit card for purchases. I have not used my debit card to withdraw cash in a few months now. Even when repaying colleagues or friends for lunch purchases, etc., we just Venmo. Use your debit card to withdraw at the ATM the cash you would need when traveling, and your credit card for all other purchases would be my suggestion.
I can definitely see the benefits of credit cards. Once you get into the cycle of using it and paying it off religiously every month, it's going to open up some financial horizons. It works for me just tapping my phone or debit card everywhere. I don't often feel the need to have additional credit at the ready over and above what's in the bank. Again, I'm probably something of an outlier but I believe such thinking is even more prevalent in Germany than it is in the UK.
We spent 21 days in England and Scotland in July. We used cash for tipping tour guides and 1 takeout meal from a street vendor. Every other transaction was with our tap credit cards. I loved it!
As another point of interest (straying slightly off topic), Venmo and Cashapp are unheard of in the UK. Paypal is the only one that's taken hold. Inter-bank transfers are much easier in the UK than they are in the US I believe. It's perfectly normal to give someone your account number and sort code over here. There's not a lot of fraud that can be committed with those two pieces of info (I think). Normally transfers are protected with 2FA these days and are very quick.
In the US we are told there are a lot more consumer protections with credit card purchases than debit card purchases, so I'd make a debit-card purchase only if my credit card didn't work at the point of sale and I had my debit card with me. Laws may be totally different elsewhere.
Plus airline miles, of course. In the COVID Era the easy cancellation of frequent-flier tickets has been very handy; it has made me more comfortable about planning trips.
In the US we are told there are a lot more consumer protections with credit card purchases than debit card purchases
Hmmm... interesting. Consumer law here (and in the EU) is fairly strong I'd say. Possibly easier to mandate here than under the federal system of the US. The last time I had fraud on my debit card was about twenty years ago. My card was skimmed while buying petrol [gas] in Edinburgh. Someone bought a wedding dress for £1500 in the north of England. I got the money back more or less immediately if I recall. Much harder to do that sort of thing now with modern cards.
Plus airline miles, of course.
That sounds very fancy to me! It would never occur to me that I was missing out on air miles flying from Stansted to Spain or Glasgow to The Netherlands. I don't fly often or far enough for that to be a thing for me. Maybe I should get a credit card and broaden my horizons :P
Even the buskers in the underground and on the street have contactless for tips
GerryM, I think you are confusing my preference to use a credit card with a my fear of a lack of consumer protections. That is not the case. If my debit card was hacked, I would have the protections you speak of. For me, I'd much rather use the credit card and earn points, and if either card is compromised, I rather deal with the ramification and the corrections with money that I don't own (credit card) than money I do own (debit card) and money that I also rely on to pay my mortgage, utility bills, etc. Not sure if you have an equivalent institution in the UK, but my debit card is through a credit union, and I'd much rather deal with a conglomerate (i.e., Capital One) than my little credit union if anything goes wrong money wise on international trips. I'd also much rather lose my credit card than my debit card.
For travel, I suppose my ultimate advice is use whatever form of card you would use at home. Additionally, use your debit card to withdraw cash at the local ATMs on an on needed basis (and if you have a card of some kind, preferably your credit card, there may not be a lot of use for cash).
Maryam,
all very sensible. Maybe I was assuming the worst about American consumer rights. I appreciate you considering your local credit union in those decisions too. My mum volunteered at a neighbourhood credit union for some years and they were able to offer loans and savings to people that wouldn't otherwise have access to doing it safely.
Consumer protection in the UK using a credit card is much stronger than using a debit card, so that's one reason to prioritise using credit cards as I do.
The second is earnings points to make savings in whatever form you choose. I prioritise earning Avios, which I get primarily just from my ordinary shopping rather than actually buying flights. That's how I get to fly to Mallorca next week for £1 plus some Avios.
Thank you all for your feedback. We are comfortable with tapping credit cards and are bringing enough GBP for minor purchases.
Btw, what is a busker?
A busker is a person who stands in the street with a guitar massacring Hallelujah and Wonderwall and hoping you’ll throw coins into their open guitar case (or tap their card reader).
Other opinions are available.
I have a follow-up question to this post. I'm reading online about chip and pin cards vs. our chip and signature cards in US and that even though they have a chip, US cards can have issues in Europe. I'm going to UK for first time in May. Will I have any issues with my chip card being accepted everywhere? Anyone have issues with this?
Also, I have an Amex, Mastercard and a rarely used Visa. Are all equally accepted?
@kjslaughter - I've never had an issue with a chip and signature card in UK or France. The comments I see most where there are problems is at gas stations. Will you be renting a car?
I use AMEX and Visa all the time in Europe. In London last May I used AMEX for contactless transactions on the Tube and it worked well. Usually AMEX is not recommended because many merchants/restaurants don't accept it but it is one of the ones you can use for London Transport.
I do recommend you also use Apple or Google Pay if you have those available. If you are not used to using ApplePay, try it at home first for a few weeks before you travel so you are familiar with it.
I agree with Pam about ApplePay (or Google Pay), and about practicing before you come :-)
I just spent 17 days in England and used ApplePay for literally every transaction, from public transit in London (buses and the Tube) to a tour of a Cambridge college to pub lunches to grocery shopping at Asda to train tickets. I think I used up some excess cash from previous trips for voluntary donations at places like the British Library, but I'm sure they have a contactless option, too :-)
The only places we had to use cash were for dinners provided by a couple of very small B&Bs in the "middle of nowhere" (i.e., not even in a small village) that didn't take credit cards. Our British friends had prepaid the stays by bank transfer. The one pay toilet I used during our stay didn't even take cash. My smallest charge ever--20 pence.
"I think I used up some excess cash from previous trips for voluntary donations at places like the British Library, but I'm sure they have a contactless option, too :-)"
@ Laura...funny you mentioned that! I noticed York Minster had contactless donation sites located OUTSIDE the church which I though was really smart of them. Get the folks who are just doing a walk by! I also saw contactless donation sites in a number of smaller churches including the one the Bronte Dad was pastor at in Haworth. I tried to donate to most of them to let them know the contactless was working...so much easier than having cash for those donation sites.
@kjslaughter, I have a chip and signature card and have never had a problem. For most stuff I can just tap, including some quite high value transactions. Occasionally it promts for a signature for very high amounts like hotels, and then you just sign.
Re cash, I hardly ever use cash in the UK. But yesterday I went to an antiques fair, and almost all stallholders were cash only, much to my surprise. Fortunately I had come prepared.
For Americans, your debit card provide you a little less protection than your credit card. Not to mention that with a credit card when you file dispute, it is removed from your credit usage. With a debit card when they steal your cash, you will eventually get it back, but you will not have access to it for a while. Please, I would really recommend using a credit card and not a debit card if at all possible. I’m not sure what it happens for British citizens and maybe they don’t have the same problems Americans do, but I work in cyber security and you really don’t need to give the crooks access to your bank account.
Thank you Carol for that information!
Pam – yes, even tiny village churches often have a little contactless donation machine – so handy! And that's so interesting – and clever – that York Minster has one outside!
& I see I will have to make a pilgrimage to Haworth :-)
