Cash or card in Poland?

I was in Poland a year ago on an RS tour.

I found it useful to have cash for dinners and small items in Poland. However, a couple members of the tour used cards only. I don't know about the tap to play element.

If you're on the tour that also goes through Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia, there were definitely some countries -- Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia -- where it's best to have a little cash.

If George is leading your tour, tell him I said hi.

I was in Warsaw last month and used Google Pay (tap) almost exclusively. At one hotel I had to give my physical card as assurance against any incidentals, but I'm not certain that was in Poland. For the most part, I was able to leave my physical card in my wallet.

In many restaurants in Warsaw, but not all, I was also able to add the tip to my credit card bill and the servers assured me that they would personally get the tip. There were occasions when I was not able to put the tip on the credit card bill. I used my credit card for some tiny purchases, but preferred having cash for those.

Things may be different in smaller towns in Poland, and perhaps also at smaller establishments.

Contactless cards have been in use in Poland for at least 15 years and during that time many people have found that they are not as safe as chip&pin so now country-wide security requirements include having to enter pin every 5 or 6 payment regardless of amount and every time it's over 100PLN. That probably does not apply to foreign cards/limits are different for cards from other EU countries.

Cash is sometimes neeed to pay for street food, toilets, other small purchases, especially in smaller towns but even there you usually have choice so if the vendor does not take cards, you go somewhere else.

Confirming the point above regarding foreign cards, I did not ever need to enter my PIN for a transaction using my US credit card in Warsaw.

Out of interest - what happens if your contactless card gets stolen/lost and someone uses it? Europe has much longer experience with such cards and PIN requirements/payment limits don't come from nowhere - they come from the EU directive on payment services.

I lost a contacless card once and that was not a fun experience. After that I disabled the contactless function on my cards so they could only be used as Chip&PIN except one linked to an account I didn't keep much money in and only used for quick small payments like public transport tickets in onboard machines (I didn't like to enter PIN being surrounded by people on a crowded bus or tram). Then earlier this year the bank suddenly disabled the contactless function on that one card due to some security issue and I had to replace it.

thank you for all your help! I have obtained a small amount of zlotys to start, and will adjust as the trip progresses.

I'd like to chime in on the discussion about whether it's better to use cash or card in Poland. While it's true that card payments are widely accepted in touristy areas and big cities, it's not the case everywhere. In smaller towns, rural areas, or less touristy places, you may find that many establishments only accept cash.

Even some small businesses or markets in larger cities might prefer cash over card. Therefore, while it's convenient to use a card in places like Warsaw, Krakow, or Gdansk, especially in hotels, restaurants, or larger shops, it's always a good idea to carry some cash with you. This is particularly important if you plan to explore areas outside of the main tourist hubs.

So, in summary, cards are generally accepted in popular areas, but if you're venturing off the beaten path, it's advisable to have some cash on hand.

Hope this helps!

Just never had a problem purchasing something even 2 or 3 zloty with Apple Pay. Even cleared a hotel bill in Gdansk, with Apple Pay, for just under 1,600 zloty - I was shocked, but hey, the front desk woman said it should work. I was amazed at the amount of Contactless Pay in Poland, say 5 or 6 years ago.

Always, always each person's personal experience is just that ... YMMV!

That's why I intentionally have a picked PIN for all 3 credit cards when traveling in Europe, regardless if it is needed...basically immaterial.

Thanks for the information on needing cash in the distinctly non-tourist areas. In the border towns, ie, just across from the Oder Bruch , the last time in 2017, I used both cash and the credit card in cafes and restaurants as I did in Chelmno (on the Vistula) and in Malbork.

The only time I needed cash was at a store that sold religious items. Besides that, my credit card ruled.

I am currently in Poland. You need cash at the Christmas Markets. About 1/2 of the stalls are cash only.

Note that on our independent trip to Poland (just before the Pandemic), I had the MOST trouble with "Dynamic Currency Conversion" efforts I've had anywhere. Even the national railway had POS terminals that tried to mislead you into okay-ing a transaction in dollars. Here's a quote of my own earlier report:

During our 2019 trip to Poland, I confronted DCC at every single credit card transaction, from tiny local store to national rail ticket windows. In some cases, the term DCC appears. In other cases, there is a dialog for choosing $US or *ZL (Polish zloty.) At the airport ATM, the dialog attempted to scare me in English by offering a “guaranteed” $USD exchange rate, or a scary “bank rate NOT guaranteed ZL.” Of course, I chose the scary bank rate!

Because most European restaurants put the POS terminal in your hand, you have to READ the two line screen and respond appropriately. And as is often pointed out on this board, be ready for misleading prompts! I was usually able to decipher the two-line POS device displays, but it takes a leap of faith to press a button labelled (for example) “F4” simply because it is physically located directly beneath the part of the glowing display saying “ZTL?”. In some other cases, the prompt required selecting a scary choice like “Refuse”, which was never as explicit as “Refuse DCC.” When in doubt, refuse!

I experienced a similar “threatening” requirement to acknowledge that I was “rejecting the currency exchange guarantee” at a few POS terminals in London, the same month in 2019.

I had a different problem when checking out of the excellent Metropolitan Boutique Hotel in Krakow. When they gave me my 35-day old charge slip (for a fully prepaid room rate, which was what I chose) it said in thermal printed English that I had declined the Mastercard rate and had agreed on a 3.5% conversion fee!! My web interface confirmation page from that day says only that I paid 2450 Zloty, which I had assumed meant that I had successfully opted to pay for the room in Zloty.

I found the situation in Poland this year better than it was in 2018, in that now the terminals display the DCC information in English if you're using a US card. I agree that the display text could certainly be clearer than it is. Still, I was able to avoid DCC without needing to arm-wrestle restaurant servers and shop clerks.

What about tipping the taxi driver or tour guide, and that sort of thing?

Even in Scotland last year the tour guide didn't have a way to receive a tip with a card. This is just one reason I always have some cash. You don't need it... until you do. A couple of small vendors also took cash only.

Biwak bez focha summed it up nicely. Be careful with the, "I never needed cash" advice. Listen to the locals.