Using cash (vs. credit card) in Naples and the Amalfi Coast

Italian law requires all merchants to accept card payments regardless of transaction amount.

Some people (including all 3 million Neapolitans) prefer to be paid in cash since cash transactions are untraceable and therefore make it easier to dodge taxes (both Value Added Tax and Income Tax).

Neapolitans who obey laws and are compliant with all tax laws are so rare that archeologists haven't been able to find any even under the ashes of Pompeii. Archeologists are now trying to find remains of Neapolitans who, at any time in history, have obeyed traffic laws and stopped at red street lights. They haven't been successful so far.

Bring your ATM card to Naples and be ready to pull some cash from the ATM once in a while, or you may not even get a taxi ride. No need to carry a lot from home, just have some from the ATMs. You can use your ATM card in Italy just as easily as you can in the US.

We also have found over the last couple of years, city guides want to be paid in cash but we normally make reservations before leaving home so we have an idea of how much cash we’re going to need when we get there.

As for other parts of Europe, this last May we found the same to be true in Scotland and Germany and also the taxi drivers.

Roberto - thank you for today's belly laughs. So looking forward to Italy in 13 days, including the Amalfi Coast.

I was in Naples and the Amalfi Coast on an OAT tour 2 years ago. No problem using credit cards for the half dozen or so meals we had on our own, some souvenirs, some grocery store purchases.

We didn’t take any taxi rides on that trip, but in Scotland and Ireland this year, the drivers definitely preferred cash, but took our card.

Nomination for the funniest post of the month:

"Neapolitans who obey laws and are compliant with all tax laws are so rare that archeologists haven't been able to find any even under the ashes of Pompeii. Archeologists are now trying to find remains of Neapolitans who, at any time in history, have obeyed traffic laws and stopped at red street lights. They haven't been successful so far."

We have always paid VRBO deposits with a credit card but paid the balance in cash. I don't know what my husband's logic is on this. We like to pay at restaurants in cash for the purpose of tipping. We have used credit cards in restaurants though. For tickets we use credit cards. There is the bonus of the favorable exchange rate when using a card that has no transaction fee and charging local currency.

I like to use cash because then payments are 'one and done' and there's no shock at the credit card bill at the end of the trip.

Very, very funny Roberto, thanks for the laugh!

We actually used Apple Pay for the subway in Naples, it was easier than a credit card, which just didn't work. We bought our train tickets the same way. We made a reservation & paid ahead for our Pompeii tour with Askos with a US-based credit card, NP. And yes, we used more cash in Italy than other places further north, get some 1E coins to use to light up masterpieces inside churches.

Oh yes Roberto, I forgot to thank you for the laugh

@musicmol1-“We have always paid VRBO deposits with a credit card but paid the balance in cash. I don't know what my husband's logic is on this. We like to pay at restaurants in cash for the purpose of tipping”
You DO know that when you tip a waiter in a restaurant in Italy it can be seen as insulting to them? And is also not necessary since they’re paid a proper living wage. Also when your husband pays a VRBO in cash he is helping your hosts avoid the taxes on such exchanges? Pay by card. We pay everything via CC even the smallest coffee of €.80. It is the law that every vendor of every kind must take a CC regardless of amount or their crying about not wanting to take a card or that it makes their lives easier. It makes it easier for them to avoid paying taxes. Less than 30% of Italians pay taxes, but, that’s a story for another time. Use your CC. You’ll get the ooobts you want and you won’t be helping cheap Italians avoid taxes. Speaking as one married to an Italian with a father-in-law who would pay taxes even if the world was on fire. I’ve never in my more than 30 years of traveling to Italy and living in Italy have understood this touristic idea of paying cash for everything. The tipping thing from America is even worse. Just because servers in restaurants make $2.50 an hour plus tips doesn’t mean it happens everywhere else. When an Italian waiter sees tip money on the table they take it begrudgingly and then mutter under their breath “these Americans who throw their money away befuddle me” because that’s literally how they see it. Study the places you visit before you go

L'americano, we have been to restaurants in Naples where a tip is added to the bill. I think times are changing. And when I say we tip, we basically just round up to the nearest euro. If the Neapolitans want to think we are stupid and are throwing our money away that's their problem. We appreciate good service.

Roberto wins the internet today.

In 2023 I was so used to people insisting on cash that I was taken by surprise when I tried to pay cash for an entry ticket at Pompeii and they insisted I use credit card. I tried to pay the €32 (for 2) entry fee with a €50 bill, but was told they'd take it only if I didn't want change back. That region is wonderful but prepare for a different world and the unexpected.

This community is great! Roberto definitely gets high marks for making us all laugh out loud! And everyone's comments offer very helpful perspectives. Since covid years, we hardly use cash day-to-day. Now we just gotta remember what our ATM PIN was.... Thanks everyone!