Cash required in Germany and Austria

Austrian hotel tax doesn't in all cases need to be paid in cash. There, as well as elsewhere in Europe, it's individual to the specific place of lodging.

Hallstatt is indeed an all-cash destination. One of many reasons it was my least favorite visit in all of Europe.

Even though little cash is required, I always take about $500 worth of cash in case of emergencies.
On a few occasions, I have had issues with some of my credit or ATM cards.

The last few hotels I stayed at in Austria took my card for the tax. But I do know that both Germany and Austria are still heavy into using cash compared to the norm in Europe. Hallstatt for instance its cash or nothing .... except at the 24 hour self serve convenience store. Even Salzburg cash was king. Vienna I didnt notice it so much. Small towns in Germany you could go hungry if you didnt have cash.

The small inns and apartments I stay in take cash or a bank transfer

Salzburg required no cash for my wife and me. Hallstatt is an outlier in many ways, most of them negative IMO. We needed no cash in Vienna, either, so far as I recall.

Some folks believe that seeking out "out of the way" food and lodging that refuses credit cards enhances their European experience, and who am I to disagree? Each to one's own. But I've not found many must-visit places throughout Europe that required cash.

Some concrete German numbers by Deutsche Bundesbank: "Payment behaviour in Germany in 2023".

And as already mentioned: the upcoming digital Euro will bring some moves into the payment game.

Some folks believe that seeking out "out of the way" food and lodging
that refuses credit cards enhances their European experience

Never heard of that concept.

Thanks MarkK, pretty surprising numbers.

Mr É: in which way the numbers surprised you? Just interested.

So much cash being used. Here I rarely see cash getting used, they will tap for a pack of gum. Well, middle class and up. Still a huge poor population that doesnt have a bank account

In Germany we have the saying "Nur Bares ist Wahres.", somehow "Only cash is king.".

In Wien and Frankfurt last summer's trip I stayed a couple of nights total in two 3 star hotels that were cashless...barlos.

My favourite restaurant for Schnitzel in Vienna on Neubaugasse is adamant in its "cash only " policy. To remind the patrons a sign to that effect is posted on the front door....bravo !

I saw the same thing with restaurants in Berlin in Häckischer Markt...so these eating establishments do exit with this no credit card policy, regardless if they are located in a so-called tourist area or not.

I can only agree with the need for cash in Germany, but will qualify in that if you are diligent, verify, and stick to the more touristed places...then you can do fine with card only.

In addition to those places listed above, self serve laundries were cash only in the three places we used them. If you need to buy tickets from the driver for the regional buses in the Mosel valley...you better have cash.

We also went to three fests, the Middle Mosel Wine Fest, The Wurstmarkt in Bad Durkheim (a wine fest despite the name), and Oktoberfest. At all three, cash was really required. In some places if you were spending 30 euro or more, they might take card, but you really are not going to use card for 3-5 euro wine pours, and even the 12 euro Maas at Oktoberfest is cash.

Those of us who travel cashless in Austria and Germany (and elsewhere in Europe) would never claim that cash-only establishments don't exist, merely that they are easily avoided if one prefers to travel cashless. The "must have euros" folks seem to miss this distinction, by and large.

Do you usually get cash before you leave the US, or in Europe? I believe Rick says it's better to get the local currency when you are in that country/region.
I normally get cash when I arrive at the airport. Maybe not such a good idea?
Thanks!

Personally, I wait to get cash overseas until I actually need it, then I find a bank ATM.

I get the cash in Euro at BofA before flying out, especially if the exchange rate happens to be favourable as it currently stands, 1.08 to the Dollar. That's the incentive. I can wait until it the $ drops to 1.07 or better still , 1.06. In late Sept. the rate stood at 1.05 Euro.

Given the choice in an establishment in Germany and Austria on paying cash or credit card, that mainly depends on the establishment itself, ie, is it a chain hotel (Motel One, Ibis, Mercure, etc) or a relatively modest restaurant, ie not white table cloth dining. In the modest place I'll not pull out the credit card, above all, if I am a regular there and "they" know me.

I normally get cash when I arrive at the airport. Maybe not such a good idea?

Depends. In Frankfurt and Munich airports, I always get cash at the Deutsche Bank ATM. It costs me just the $5 or 1% charged by my bank/credit union to pay the Interbank fee. That's the same as I would pay outside the airport.

I have heard that the ATMs at Heathrow are all captive of Travelex and charge a much higher fee (they are really a currency exchange agency, not a bank). They are as bad as exchanging money at an exchange counter at the airport.

Those of us who use cash in Austria and Germany would never claim that card-taking establishments don't exist, merely that they are easily avoided if one prefers to use cash. In well over a hundred nights in Germany and Austria, I've found that the small, family owned Gasthofs and hotels that I like to stay in don't accept card payments. I travel in German speaking countries on less than 65-70€ per person/night (lodging, local transportation, meals, and misc.), less than $100. I don't deliberately chose places that don't take cards, but I find that the places I do chose for other reasons, don't take cards. Part of the reason they are less expensive is that they don't have the added expense of taking cards. The "must not use cash" folks seem to miss this distinction, by and large.

Hallstatt is indeed an all-cash destination. One of many reasons it
was my least favorite visit in all of Europe.

That is a very bad reason!

I loved Hallstatt, but their only taking cash (I really didn't notice) was not reason why.

Yes, if you require cash-only gasthouses, you should definitely carry cash.

My point has always been that it's inaccurate to say that one must always carry a wad of cash when visiting Germany and Austria. That's just not the case. If your sensibilities are so refined that you must stay in quaint, small hostels and eat in small, out-of-the-way eateries, then by all means stuff your wallet with euros. I guess my tastes are more easily satisfied when I travel, and outside of places like Hallstatt, credit cards have been largely sufficient for my purposes.

As for Hallstatt, I found it to be unreasonably crowded and expensive, its residents largely surly to the tourist crowds, and the views inferior to those on the Traunsee. Add to that the fact it's a pain in the neck to get to. The whole cash-only business was a flea on the elephant's back as regards my reasons for finding it disappointing. I'm well aware many people disagree with me, and that's fine. Diversity is a good thing.

I have heard that the ATMs at Heathrow are all captive of Travelex and charge a much higher fee (they are really a currency exchange agency, not a bank). They are as bad as exchanging money at an exchange counter at the airport.

Travelex does have the ATM contract at Heathrow, as they do at a number of airports, but they are just regular ATMs. At Heathrow you will pay a use fee, but typical of what you would elsewhere (though in the UK, you can find no fee ATMs if you look), and the exchange rate is determined by your network, not Travelex (unless you foolishly opt for DCC). So no worse than any other ATMs, and nowhere as bad as an exchange counter.

If you are getting cash only once or twice, paying a fee of a few euro to do so really is not an issue, any ATM works, if you do not like the fee asked for, cancel and move on. If you have a card like Schwab that reimburses those fees, then no problem at all.

Those of us who travel cashless in Austria and Germany (and elsewhere in Europe) would never claim that cash-only establishments don't exist, merely that they are easily avoided if one prefers to travel cashless. The "must have euros" folks seem to miss this distinction, by and large.

No, I don't think we miss this distinction, we just don't want to avoid establishments for this reason. I like to be prepared for any option, home and abroad.

Cash only places do still exist here in the US. Heck, I was in a small town hardware store last year that still used the credit card slide machine. The clerk said that if a non-embossed card was presented, he would just have to write down all the numbers on the paper slip. I paid cash.

we just don't want to avoid establishments for this reason.

I never said that I avoid places listed just because they are listed on Booking or any other booking website. I just don't use those sites because I have found from experience that they only show the more expensive accommodations in town.

I use either the town's own accommodations listing or use Google Maps to find a place conveniently located and look up the property's website. I use multiple features to decide where I want to stay -location, facilities, price, and breakfast. As I said, I sometimes find that I have picked somewhere that is listed on Booking, but I have always gotten a better deal by booking directly with the property, often it's a package deal not offered on Booking.

Case in point, I have twice stayed in a very nice family run Gasthof in a small town in the Allgäu, about a half hour's bus ride from Füssen. The last time was three nights in 2017. Their price for a room, double occupancy, with breakfast, today is 80€ per night, cash only. The place is on the main drag through town with bus stops across the street and next door.

If you Google the name, the first listing for that property will say it's on Booking.com, but that's bait-and-switch. When you follow that link, you find that Booking doesn't actually book the requested place; Booking tries to switch you to other properties, all of them more expensive. The least expensive equivalent (breakfast included) place I can find on Booking is 110€ per night, 37% more, and they only go up from there.

The last time I was in Germany, 2017, it was with my late partner. We spent, on the ground - local transportation, double occupancy accommodations, meals, and incidentals - for 2, $170 per night (note: $$ not €€), or $85 per person. Only once did we pay more than 100€ for a room, and that was in Lindau, and coincidently at a hotel bookable through Booking.com.

Last year I stopped in a small village outside Frankfurt, where my son lived. Of the 8 restaurant establishments in the village, only the Middle Eastern "window-meat" place took cards. I don't do window-meat. We had to find an ATM, also rare in the village.

As for the negativity on Hallstatt. It was from reading similar negativity that I decided I would never go. Of course, my S.O. had other ideas, so we went about a month ago. Lovely and charming town, and not terribly crowded when we were there. It's stupid expensive, but what isn't in Austria?

Pretty much cash only other than the hotel.

If you go to a place and dislike it as much as what I read above that means you failed in pre-Trip Research 101.

In SF you can be certain that "cash only" eateries in this regard are alive and well. I know of numerous eateries and shops that post that sign as you enter.

Then there are also restaurants in the immediate Bay Area accepting no cash, ie card only. You see both here, or a rebate is offered from the total bill if cash is used. That's another incentive.

If you go to a place and dislike it as much as what I read above that means you failed in pre-Trip Research 101.

Whether I failed or not isn't the point. What matters is that other travelers are better informed.

Since I only go to Austria in the summer, this time I had some pleasant surprises in Vienna in regards to hotel rates. The 2 hotels I stayed in are 4 stars, which normally I avoid. The exception is if over a course of 4-5 nights or more, the average rate per day is under 100Euro or a bit over, I book it.

In July when I decided to extend the visit there and asked the hotel what the total amount would cost me and doing a quick mental math calculation anything under a 100 Euro or so, I took it. It turned out to be 98 Euro was the daily average.

These two hotels are chains. I pay them with a credit card, even though that wad of cash is on me. Not concerned about carrying such an amount, least of all, getting picked. The cash is used instead to pay for restaurant meals

Whether I failed or not isn't the point. What matters is that other
travelers are better informed.

Or are they?

I was in Hallstatt a few years ago, and I loved it. Yes, it was overrun by Asians, but it was still a great place, particularly at night (I stayed for two), after most of the "tourists" had gone.

And I didn't find Hallstatt to be awfully expensive, but that might be because of where I stayed. I started looking for accommodations months in advance. I was single, and I kept getting responses fom places that said that they were "ausgebucht" - booked. When I got there, most of the places that said that the were booked, had "Zimmer Frei" signs displayed. I figured out that when I was looking for accommodations, it was early and most places were still hoping to book the room for two, for more €. They didn't want to book a single that early. The same thing happened to me a few years earlier in Cochem.

I didn't find Hallstatt, staying where I stayed, to be so expensive. Because no place in Hallstatt said they had a vacancy, I ended up finding a chalet a quarter mile up the Echerntal from Lahn, the town 1 km down the lake from Hallstatt itself. It worked out because I wanted to come in on the bus from the Salzkammergut anyway, and the bus station is in Lahn. It was more reasonably priced than in town, and then the woman wrote to me and said she could rent the chalet for two people, and would I mind staying in a room at her mother's place across the road.

Staying at her mother's was less expensive and a real fun experience. There were only two other people staying there, and they were on the other floor. It was an etagende bath (down the hall), but I was the only one on the floor, so I had a big bathroom all to myself. Her mother was 80 yo and got up early every morning to milk the cow. You don't get an experience like this staying at the Hilton.

Whether I failed or not isn't the point. What matters is that other
travelers are better informed.

Or are they?

Apparently you believe they're not. How kind of you to let us know.

There were 2 occasions this trip where I am sure the Americans there (and they were Americans in line along with other international tourists) wished they had had cash on them. These places were Berlin Hbf and Wien Hbf where the WC normally can be paid using the cc tap option.

On this day when I got there the WC in Berlin Hbf tap function was out of order, yes, " außer Betrieb. " I saw the long line and wonder why that was so, went ahead of the line only to see the tap option was not functioning, ie only cash. I had it. This particular American party did not have cash, none of them did and were told to go to buy something to get change. Somehow that still did not work since one guy came back pretty ticked off when dealing the cashier. In the old days, '70s and '80s the German cashier dealing with a foul mood American most likely would have yelled at him.

In Wien Hbf same story, the tap function was taped over, this time that WC attendant could hardly speak understandable English, his German wasn't much better either.

Bottom line: It pays to carry cash , this notion of using cc in Germany to get by is a myth. One cannot count on the WC in Austrian and German train stations always to have the tap function working normally as expected. If that is taped over, is that for real or not?

Fred, thanks for your prospective. I read it with glee, thinking of all those people, who were so sure that you don't need cash in Germany, frantically trying to find cash in order to relieve their painfully full bladders.

But, seriously, I do know that, in most cases, you absolutely don't need to have cash in Germany. All you need is a lot of money to waste. There are tons of places to stay in Germany that take credit cards, as long as you don't mind spending a lot more money than you need to.

Have you ever noticed how many perfectly fine hotels, etc., there are in Germany without stars? That's because DEHOGA, the primary organization that awards stars, requires any hotel to take credit card in order to qualify for stars. Therefore, a lot of otherwise multi-star hotels, who don't want to take cards, don't bother with stars. I estimate that I save at least 50% on accommodations in Germany by not limiting myself to hotels that take cards.

That's because DEHOGA, the primary organization that awards stars, requires any hotel to take credit card in order to qualify for stars.

This is not correct in this detail. The DEHOGA criteria catalogue just requires "Bargeldlose Zahlung" (cashless payment) in position 48 (page 6) which can also mean German / European debit card of banks (formerly known as EC-Karte). These are much more beloved by shops, hotels and restaurants because the fee is lower and less administration.

I’m heading to Bavaria and Austria soon and never had a problem with either cash or credit cards. I don’t have preferences. I always get a few hundred in cash before leaving Munich airport. The small pensions and Gasthof we have stayed at in the past require payment at the end of our stay, so if they need cash that I am not carrying at that point, I’ll get it from an ATM. Either cash or CC, I don’t care, I’m on vacation and I’ll pay in the manner required.

MarkK, I guess he was looking at this: https://www.hotelstars.eu/fileadmin/Dateien/PORTAL_HSU/Kriterienkataloge/2024-04-24_HSU_classification_criteria_2025_-_2030.pdf

Mr E, and what is the difference to my statement regarding no 48?

@ Lee regarding those hotels in Germany without stars....how very true. At those small hotels one can, to be sure, expect German standards in terms of maintenance.

@ Mark....I have stayed in Germany where upon presentation of my Mastercard card at check-in I was told that only the EuroCard would be accepted.

Only Germans have this card. Fine, no problem, so I paid for the 3 nights in cash. This was in Dresden. Quite understandable why the MC and Visa card were rejected.

From what I've read, the EU has capped the Interchange fees for credit and debit cards at 3/10% and 2/10% respectively. I don't know if the 2/10% applies to EC cards but I expect that it does. This cap only applies to cards issued by EC banks, not to foreign banks, like those in the US. Foreign banks can negotiate rates with whoever (the "network"). I don't know what these rates might be over there, but I under stand that in this country it could be several percent or more.

This might explain why some places only take EC cards - to avoid having to take US credit cards and take bigger discounts.

Lee, businesses take EC cards because there are no extra fees. They have to pay a fee with a credit card. That is why so many of them don't take them.

The Regulation ensures that interchange fees are capped at a level such that retailers' average costs are not higher for card than for cash payments. Therefore, the Regulation caps interchange fees for consumer debit cards to 0.2 % and consumer credit cards to 0.3 % of the value of the transaction.

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/document/print/en/memo_16_2162/MEMO_16_2162_EN.pdf

Of course, EC cards don't have to charge the maximum allowable interchange fee. They might be preferred because they charge less then other debit cards, but I'm sure EC Card does have expenses, so they have to get reimbursed for expenses somehow, i.e., with interchange fees.

I have noticed that when foreign tourists , among them Americans too, at an eatery, restaurant , or small hotel in Germany and Austria are informed at paying time that only cash is accepted, they look not only disappointed but the mood changes too having been caught unaware by this unexpected news. Then they are informed where the closest ATM is located.