Cash vs. Credit Card in Poland

I can only share my experience.

I've been to Poland twice in the last 18 months. I have yet to get any zloty. I was able to pay for everything with either my credit card or Google Pay.

I'm going back in the spring but will visit mostly smaller towns and cities so I might get some zloty just to have in case I can't use my cards.

I never used any cash in Poland. I was there last year.

The only thing I needed cash for in Poland was to pay a tour guide in Gdansk. It was one of those free-with-tips tours, and very good, but meant having to dash off to an ATM during the tour and it proved extremely difficult in the historic centre to find one without fairly substantial charges.

But no big deal.

I don’t know why we didn’t consider the need to give him cash beforehand but I think I maybe expected him to carry one of those little tap & go card machines like I’ve seen UK tour guides with.

Even public loos took cards for the small entry fee.

Keep in mind that change desks/currency exchanges are still a thing in Poland. I was able to buy PLN at a change desk near the Chopin B&B in Warsaw at a rate similar to what I was getting for credit card purchases.

I've been to Poland six times in the last ten years, most recently Sept 2025. If you stay ONLY in the big cities, you likely won't need cash. We used VISA at all restaurants, shops, trains, buses, etc. If you go out into the villages, you might need cash for restrooms, small shops, and stands, etc.

Here is the guideline: You don't need any zloty coins or cash until you do. Don't risk it. Get a small amount of cash from a bank ATM and buy something at a store to get coins. Take the extra cash home to save for next time. You will be back!

I haven't used cash in Poland since my first visit there over 20 years ago, pretty much most of Europe is predominantly card/phone/watch payment.

Używam tylko karty, jest wygodniej. Gotówka jest niewygodna.

Thanks for asking that as I was also wondering.
I'm also planning to join a free walking tour where tips are expected but not mandatory. Would be rude to give Euros (cash)?

But I will try to use ATM to take out the smallest amount available so I can tip in zloty and use change for little souvenir on my departure. What I had to do with another recent country visit in Africa.

I'm also planning to join a free walking tour where tips are expected but not mandatory. Would be rude to give Euros (cash)?

I would say yes. That option wouldn’t ever have occurred to me. What use would the tour guide have for euros unless they happened to be travelling to somewhere in the euro zone? It’d mean they themselves having to change euros to zloty at some point. Surely it’s much easier for you just to go to the ATM and get some zloty?

However maybe someone who is actually Polish might have a view on it.

As others have said yes cards are widely accepted BUT in addition to the aforementioned walking tours, you usually can’t put tips on a credit card. While not mandatory, it’s customary to tip around 10% at restaurants. So it’s useful to have some small bills for that.

A note about those "free" walking tours: The guides are charged a head tax by the organizing company--I'd guess now the equivalent of about $5--for each person who shows up for the tour. Therefore, the guide starts out in the hole. I think failing to tip in that situation is more or less stealing from the guide. I think about 15 euros per person converted to local currency is a reasonable minimum. I'd only go lower than that if the guide was really bad.

Consider joining a real tour rather than a "free" one. They are higher quality and truly, you get what you pay for.
Yes, it is rude to give a tip in a currency different from the country you are in. They would have to pay to exchange it.

We were in Wroclaw recently for the Christmas market. Most of the market booths only took cash. Every place outside the market took cards. So I think cards are good unless you happen across a temporary pop-up event.