Cashless in Spain?

Is it possible to be cashless in Madrid and Barcelona?

Yes, since the pandemic much of urban Spain has shifted towards the cashless trend. The only thing is that it may be more convenient (i.e quick) to use cash with taxis.

And just to add you can use an app for taxis in Spain. In Seville we used Cabify. I believe it's all over Spain. Super convenient if you're familiar with lyft and Uber because no cash and you don't have to worry about going to a taxi stand. Also the cabify drivers usually spoke a little English. Highly recommend!

I've traveled to Spain twice recently (August 2021, January 2022) and concur that it's possibly to be almost entirely cashless. I'd only note that it's helpful if your credit card has tap capabilities, as that usually gets rid of the need to sign a printed slip.

You dont ever have to be "stuck with cash". You can always spend it, down to the last minute in the duty-free shop at the airport. Just because many places will take cards, doesnt mean that cash is useless.

I just returned from 3 weeks in Spain. I hit an ATM on the first day for 100 Euros, on the last day I a little over 50 left. I only used cash for small tips, and occasional small purchases in order to break larger bills into Euro coins. Apart from wanting to leave a few Euros as tips, I could have done without cash the entire trip. What was a big aid was getting any credit card changed to one that was enabled for contactless or tap to pay transactions.

Does apple pay/wallet works at most places?

If the merchant has a Contactless Pay POS device - an electronic wallet works just like taping the physical card.

Thanks. And credit card works for cabs too? is there any equivalent of Uber?

Other than two restaurants in Zaragoza and one in Burgos, I could have gone cashless on my May-June trip. On the other hand, I had no problem with merchants accepting cash either. I used a lot of cash to spend down what I had on hand. For my wife and I, the only reason to have much money in our travel account used for ATMs are for the rare occasions a hotel might be cash only, or, if for some reason we get stuck someplace either going or returning.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/cashless-in-real-time-an-unintentional-experiment

My experience on a 3 week trip to Spain in Oct 2021 was the same as Archimedes. 100€ the first day and had ±35€ left on my last nite. Couple of beers and snacks at the airport and I was tapped out.

Shop for a tap card or iPhone wallet accessory card such as the Apple Card, which may not be the BEST credit card but it works seamlessly with iOS. Whichever product you end up using, give yourself a few weeks to practice using it, get accustomed to the confirmation process, learn how to read and pay your statements online, and understand that your iPhone has acquired yet another new and higher level of importance. (Which is why I always recommend that cashless folks carry a small travel camera instead of carelessly waiving one's iPhone around fifty times a day.)

" I always recommend that cashless folks carry a small travel camera instead of carelessly waiving one's iPhone around fifty times a day."

Nah, the iPhone is like a Swiss-Army Knife - I'm going to continue to use Apple Pay and wave it around 100+ times a day - that's one of the reasons I bought the darned thing to begin with.

And if it gets stolen, the password will halt any intrusions PLUS you have the ability to place the iPhone in lost/stolen mode. While I don't carry any physical cards at home I do take physical cards with me, as back-up, when I travel.

Thanks all! I just double checked and the credit cards I plan to bring with me are tap-to-pay.

Of course I realize we could spend the cash anywhere once we take it out, but it's one thing to use up twenty euros vs three hundred or something. (Although I'm sure my kids would love being turned free in the duty free shop, I don't want them to spend that much. hahaha)

I pretty much travel cashless everywhere in the US so that's my first instinct when paying. I'll probably grab 20 euros for each of us and only transfer a few hundred to my travel debit account for the trip. (I will have my actual daily checking account/debit card in my suitcase for a true emergency. I suppose in that instance I won't care about a foreign transaction fee if I need to use it.)

Spain is one of those places where cash is used quite a bit by older people, but paying by debit card is extremely common. We have no problems using cash or a debit card in any establishment. I was just in London where no one wants cash due to COVID so it was hard to spend the cash I withdrew. And during a recent trip to Berlin we discovered many restaurants still only accept cash.