When the Euro was introduced there were special scrap books to collect every Euro coin from every country. And they still exist with all extensions. Maybe that's something your boys might also enjoy?
Forget cash in the Nordics - Card is king here nowdays... A lot of restaurants and cafés don't accept cash anymore. VISA/Mastercard (AmEx in some places) or mobile payment is the norm.
Simular in poland, but some shops still only take cash. They let you pay with card at 1pln. Just always pay with your card in pln, not your own currency, you won't get any better exchange rate :-) . But the ATM scams you with the exchange rate, first it's lower displayed (ok) but then they pull some extra fees and that is not displayed in the report, you just see it on your bank account. An ask if you can pay card, fell for that, had a sticker on the door accepting everything and than wanted cash. In Germany you need a lot of cash, a lot of shops don't accept CC, even in big malls or at a publuc marked they want cash, and be careful in restaurants...oh, we only take cash,wtf...that is really embarrassing when scratching cash together...but hey, it's total normal running around with 200€ cash in the middle of the night
@@mammutMK2 small shops might not accept card because they have to pay for every transaction. Elavon and other companies like that take their cut for processing and managing card payments. I currently work in a sports shop in a rather remote part of Gdańsk, it's kinda far away from everyone, so we don't make huge profits, but, we still have to pay at least 5k every month to Elavon. For little shops, accepting card for little payments would be crippling, even though very few people carry cash with them in the age of NFC, where your phone is all you need
Good luck going out with no cash in Berlin, nearly all of the small Clubs or corner Bars only take cash or you have to make At least 10 Euro which is 4 beer 🤣
1. Don't use Euronet, as some comments have pointed out 2. If you go to Sweden, don't bother getting any cash, many shops don't accept cash anymore (bank fees, risk of robbery etc.) and you might end up with a pile of Swedish crowns that keeps sinking in value every day (at least for now)
Can confirm that...it's a total scam...exchange rate 15% lower is displayed and then they pull some extra 15% exchange fees that are not displayed,not even on the receipt, it only says you took 100# ...but on you bank account they pull you 130@, and you thought like "ok, 115@". The new way of : what you see, what you expect, and what they really take from you...and now way to complain because you can't proof it (oh yeah, it's standing in the regulations written in 1/32 inch
Agree. The irony is that Euronet is not even a European company. It's actually an American company based in Kansas. It's just like Haagen-Dazs ice cream is actually an American brand disguised as European. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euronet_Worldwide
@@norweminguerfochnare9921 unless you are out in the middle of nowhere in the netherlands (very hard to do) just about every store where you go you can pay in cash, use your pin (debit) card or pay using contactless payment. Almost every store where you can pin you can use contactless payment (it is built in to the machine) however the amount you can pay is capped at around 20-25 euro's.
I get that this is at least partly a joke, but in all honesty, I've had more issues as someone who only speaks English in more rural corners of Italy and Spain than France.
@@ospero7681 But some french do know english, but don't want to speak it, while some italians don't know english but want to get you to understand them with gestures etc...
One travel hack to use up all your local currency is to ask to pay your hotel bill in cash first when you check out, then put the balance on your credit card!
If your bill is €150 and you have €50 cash that you don't want to take back home, ask to pay your hotel with €50 cash and the €100 balance on your credit card.
Actually this is a great idea. I did this in Chile when I had about $110 leftover and was about to leave for the airport. Paid if off and then did the balance on my credit card. Part of me was thinking "why didn't I think of this before?!"
I once used travelers checks when I went to Europe. They were a pain in the poo-poo hole! Never again! Now, I pay for my hotel in advance before I leave the US, and then use credit cards for train tickets and other large expenses, and cash for meals and taxis and everything else.
I'm from Belgium, I relate travel check only to 'seen at school in economic' as an old way to get cash in land of arrival at a bank in the before-my-birth past before ATM machine became really common in the south of Europe. (NW europe, south europe and eastern europe are historically economcally totally different things, and still today often want totally different things in monetairy politics.) I'm from 1984, and don't think my parents used those since my birth , or at least since the 90ties.. or you ask beforehand at you local bank to reserve foreign bills, or you just take from ATM at location, since the 90ties any ridiculous high exchange rates disappeared within Europe certainly for debit card. Credit cards, I ONLY have one cause for foreign internet shops lacking a debit card option. I consider VISA a real low secure paying method compared to security on a debit card.. I try to do as little transaction as possible cause you have to be ably to spot a month later if anyone overcharged or extra charging ... since just the numbers PRINTED ON THE CARD ITSELF are in almost all anglosaksen countries considered enough to just charge thing on it .. really weird, while with my debit card I have control over the exact amount I approve on for payment when I pay, without any concern after that i would have to check the exact amount charged..
Well, since the Euro, that problem has decimated a lot in Western Europe. I was walking in Venice in the 90's and I saw dozens of them, last time it was decimated to around 5. They are hit hard.
Always use an ATM or bank to change (and check via internet of the bank is really a bank because a lot of those offices call themselves a bank to let tourists believe they are reliable).
I think before you travel to europe you should ask your local bank if they have any partner banks in the country you go to. They take 5-10 euro per withdraw but at partner banks theres usually no fee. Also try to use ATMs by known companies and not one of these public street Atms, there they often have higher fees.
NEVER EVER let them charge your card in USD (i.e. dynamic currency conversion) -- always ask to be charged in the local currency when making a credit card purchase. If you are charged in USD, you will get a terrible rate.
The one you said about the ATM's exchange rates were spot on in my experience in Lisbon. The actual GBP/EUR exchange rate at the time was about 1.08. All the ATM's were offering only about 0.98. We selected the 'decline offer' option and our bank gave us something like 1.07 for the exchange. Saved us around £50.
Same, as an American who has never left North America but is still very much a traveler at heart, as well as I am obsessed with local economies and international currencies of all kinds, especially pesos from certain Latin American countries (particularly Mexico and Argentina) or euros from Europe, or pounds from the UK or Australian or Canadian dollars, I always look at the exchange rate AND the fees in case I do happen to travel at any time in my life. And yes, Mark Wolters is right in his advice, when you take cash out, NEVER, EVER take the conversion when they offer it, let your bank back home handle the conversion because oftentimes you can lose 10% just by taking the ATM’s offered “conversion”.
Cash isn't king everywhere in Europe. In Sweden for example you will find not all cafés and restaurants accept cash. Cards are on the other hand accepted everywhere.
+Mehmet Akif Aydoğdu 1 - tablet restaurants are popping up all over the U.S. so ordering, *paying,* tipping is all electronic including receipt 2 - no cash saves time for owners/managers who have to reconcile the sales every night 3 - credit only is accurate to the penny *But the biggest reason* 4 - it's a well known fact that most customers spend more when using credit cards
Mehmet Akif Aydoğdu they simply save a lot of money; approved cash registers are expensive and the cash have to be handled safely and deposited every day at the bank for a fee. Going "cash free" saves them a lot of work but also speed up payments as card payments are much faster these days, especially for small amounts.
The fees on card payments are usually more costly. Some say it's about the danger of robberies, but it's also about Sweden always wanting to be "the most modern country, in the world". Few swedes realise this leads to a totalitarian control state where the banks, and therefore the state, see *_every_* little step you take.
Herr Friberger the cost of handling cash is way higher than the card fees, which also have been reduced in later years. I agree there is a privacy concern when almost all payments and money transfer is electronic, but to most people it's simply a matter of convenience. Many Swedes have already quit carrying cash around unless they're going abroad, myself included. Many bank offices doesn't even accept cash deposits and withdrawals, and the number of ATMs are going down. One remedy to privacy concerns is to buy a prepaid debit card, and pay for it in cash.
Just a few comments: 1. Cash is not always king! In Sweden, it is becoming more and more common that stores don't accept cash at all! On the other hand, you can use a card almost anywhere: Buying a newspaper, some strawberries in the market square, an ice cream at the beach - you name it, they will most probably all accept cards! 2. If possible, avoid the ATM:s at the airport or obvoius tourist spots. You get a better exchange rate at the ATM the locals use.
Cash is pretty much dead in the Netherlands. Many places don't even accept it anymore. Credit card, or even better your debit card is king. I believe there's a huge north/south difference in Europe these days.
In Europe, they won’t accept your national currency for exchange if it is torn or the bank tellers back home have scribbled on it! This oversight can seriously effect your budget.
In Norway often the debit cards have highest fees on withdraw abroad. Many credit card is fee, but on most of them you have to pay interest. So check your cards before traveling - you might save some money. Second: I would recommend traveling with more than one card - in case on of the stops working.
As a side note if you go to Israel they accept US dollars in lots of places. I took shekels and USD when I went (I'm a Brit) from England and got on fine. In Europe I tend to take the nearest equivalent to £500 in Euros and my debit card to use as you suggest in the local ATMs and that is also a good way to do it. When carrying cash in Europe in a wallet fold the notes so that the tops cannot be seen and if beggars come to you just give them coins and do not take your wallet out in front of them. There can be someone watching and follow you until they get an oppotunity to relieve you of your wallet. Stay safe.
For the three euros thing, the false one is the one in the middle, since the one on the left has the Italian back and the one on the right has the German one
Cash is not "the go to" in Norway. You'll be able to pay with card anywhere you go. Also many services, like busses and trains don't accept cash anymore.
@@kacperwoch4368 No you can't, not to the bussdriver. Cash is a legal payment so the buss company has to accept it. You'll be able to prepay your ticket with cash at the company headcourters, or at a machine. The company is obliged to accept cash, but the bussdriver isn't. This is done for their own saftey, and also makes the transaction faster. I work at a cashfree hotel, and we have to accept cash, but we strongley encurages the custumer to pay with a card.
@@PSverre That's interresting. The cash vs card payment situation is somewhat different where I live. Many people embraced cash-free payment as the default but the difference is that I have never heared of a place you can't pay with cash or that you may be discouraged from doing so. It's not uncommon to pay in cash for cars or even houses, not to avoid taxes but because people like to see their money. Maybe there is less trust in digital numbers?
I love your videos, they are true and correct specially how to watch out for thieves and pick pockets. On my trip last year to Madrid, i forgot to put my documents and money in to the safe , I carried them in a shoulder bag during the breakfast in the hotel. It was stolen within seconds. I had to to to the police station to report the incident. Luckily some of my credit cards was safe in my wallet. I couldn't even get a european sim card without my passport. After replacing the passport in US embassy , we were able to call all the banks and cancel all the stollen card , check book. Miraculously police found my bag next day ( less $200 foreign money). This was the first stupid thing i have done in 73 years of my life. Thanks to the Madrid police and AC hotel manager who allowed us to extend our stay 3 more night w/o charge.
0:40 "Russia has the rubble" lol. It sure does, mate, you're technically 100% correct. But I do think you meant the rouble or ruble there. Cheers, a fellow traveller.
Oh and by the way for travellers to the UK the £50 note is looked on with suspicion as in it;s early days it was forged. Try to get £20 or £10 they are more widely acceptable. Banks and Post Offices will usually change notes down if you have £50 notes.
colin Paterson It’s worthwhile pointing out that if you withdraw money from an ATM in the UK it will be paid out in £10 and £20 notes, so you will have no problem of this sort.
We just returned this week from China, thanks for the great advice prior to our trip, ten memorable days! The ATM required your passport to exchange or withdraw cash. So the hotel concierge was the best place to change dollars. Oh and by the way they would only except "perfect bills" they then recorded each bills serial number. Talk about feeling watched! Lol.
I love your work please never stop. And I wanna say something crazy I'm watching your videos for improve my English lol because your sound very clear to comprehension and please go ahead just like that and never forget that you are talking to rhe world and its mean u have to use a simple language to understood. Thank u again sir
I wished I watched this before my Europe trip last October and November. Had a huge problem with train machines asking for a PIN for all my cards. Good thing I memorized one of my cards' cash advance pin in case I needed to withdraw money and that's what it was. The cash advance PIN! Hahaha. Lesson learned. :)
*WORD OF WARNING* I wanted to use up my Romanian Leu in the airport before leaving but lo and behold they priced all the duty free in Euros. However, one of the shop assistance helpfully (NOT) pointed out there was a currency converter at one of the gates (which probably had a terrible conversion). *LESSON*: Use your currency up before going to airport to avoid being ripped off if using lesser used currencies in Europe.
In Switzerland you don't have to worry about big bills. You can pay for a bottle of water for 1.- at a small store with a 200.- bill and no one will question you ;)
0.30 - 1.50 Swiss Francs, depends on the brand. But bottled water is actually a bad example, since we have high quality tap water (and even from the fountains in the city) for free ;)
In Germany you would pay around 1.30€ on a Train station for a 0.5l bottle (supermarkets obviously a lot cheaper, around 0.10€ for a 0.5l bottle). Since Switzerland is more expensive than Germany, water probably is also.
Where did you buy a 10 cent bottle of water? At mega chains it might be 15-20 sometimes when it's at a huge discount, but usually it is 35 in huge retails, 50 at smaller retails, 1 at metro, 1-1.5 at places like train stations, airports etc. Water in Germany is drinkable, just like 99% of Europe so it is really smarter to bring a refillable container, as it is unsanitary to refill plastic PET bottles.
Another way to use the last of your currency is to put it on a gift card or something like that. My aunt and uncle travel quite a lot, and they always bring a Starbucks card with them. On their last day of travel (or their last day of using a particular currency) they put most of the money they have left on the Starbucks card. Then they use the Starbucks card when they get back to the states.
In Latvia, before the euro, they had the latvian lat as currency, and that was one of the strongest currencies in the world. It had a 2 lat coin, wich worth 2,84 euros or 3,15 dollars. And that was just one coin! Also there was the 500 lats banknote, which is 711 euro or almost 800 dollars!
I wrote this in another one of your videos on currency but not all here have seen that. When I went to buy Euros at my bank in the US they wanted to charge 10% more than the Exchange rate so I waited until I got to Paris and used an ATM which only charged me 3%. My bank charged me $3.00 for the transaction so it was much less using an ATM in the destination country.
The tip about keeping emergency cash is a great one. Our Mastercard was retained in ATM due to an error in PIN input when on honeymoon in Prague, we weren't offered emergency cash by the bank and had to pay our hotel in cash from a debit card. To cut a long story short due to delays with the bank we were short of money and it really put a dampener on the honeymoon and my husband's first trip to Prague. One night we could only eat pizza and had to be really careful about what we ordered, not great for a honeymoon! Very frustrating to have loads of wedding cash in an account that we could not access. Even a € 200 emergency stash would have made all the difference, I always keep a stash of cash on trips now in the hotel safe. You never think it's going to happen to you !
One more thing you can do is convert to the currency of the country you are going to in your bank before going. I don't know how it is in other countries but most banks in Europe seem to offer this service. If they don't have the currency you want at the moment, then you can usually order it and they can get it for you in about two days.
@@Takador It can be if both currencies are pretty obscure, otherwise you need to either change twice or walk around to find someone that takes what you have. Here I'm mostly talking about physical currency.
Had a recent experience in Shanghai, China at the airport when trying to get money for the first time: my Visa-branded checking account debit card would not work at all -- at two banks, even after notifying the bank in advance. Ultimately, though, my non-Visa savings account ATM card worked in the same ATM where my Visa debit card was declined. So, it's a good idea to have not only your checking account ATM card, but also your savings account ATM card. This is also good, because if one of your two cards for your two accounts is lost or stolen -- or in the case of a trip to Brazil in 2013, skimmed and used for fraud -- then you can continue your travels and have the ability to take out cash.
A good tip is to make sure the money is current if you are returning as some Notes are changed and some countries do not take the old ones. For example the Czech koruna for the 20 and 50 are now coins not notes anymore, but most places will take the notes if you have them for the 50 Kč
It's not just the ATMs that give you problems if you don't have a chip in the card in Europe. A lot of Europeans don't even know what to do about a card that only swipes. And also places like gas stations sometimes you can only swipe by paying inside. And unlike the States, some of these stations are permanently unmanned. Best to bring a chip card for these reasons and more.
Obvious tip, but what I do is go to a large supermarket chain and buy something cheap with my big bill from the ATM. Big stores have the cash for that. Prepaid VISA? I had no idea. Sounds smart.
To be without money in a country with as many banks as Switzerland has, is a little bit ironic. If you have coins left, there may be local charities, or a local church, that are happy with them. I've seen this before. With ATMs, another reason to have a chip card is because they can't be easily duplicated. I've never seen it myself, but I always check if there isn't a small extra bit where you put your card in. It can be deceptively small, and it may happen in shops as well - in fact, it's more likely to happen in a shop than at a bank's ATM. These devices scan your card and transmit them to somebody who can then duplicate your card, and if they read your PIN number over your shoulder, that's all they need.
A few years ago we pickup some English pound bills from our local bank in Canada. When we landed in London we were informed that they were Old Bills and were not in valid. We had to find a branch of our bank in London and get them to exchange the bills for the New Bills. I have found that the UK changes there bills (and coins) every few years. So new we check the Bank of England website to see what is valid and which ones we have to take to the bank once we land. :)
Montenegro has a fantastic train ride from the Port city of Bar up to a town on the Serbian Birder I can't remember how to spell its name but it sure is pretty. It was on a TH-cam video.
@2:40, traditional banks will charge very high fees plus give you a rubbish exchange rate. Better off using Revolut, Currensea, Transferwise, Curve, Monzo, Starling or whatever the US equivalent is. With these card you generally get the Intrabank rate or Mastercard rate.
In Belgium in my experience bigger bills like the €100 are always accepted. The €200 and €500 ones are also accepted when the cashier is able to verify them (if they have a method for this available.) if not, then they can be refused for an unproportionally small amount but if you have to pay like say €450 then a €500 bill will always be accepted because it would be illegal to refuse them in such a situation. If they still won’t accepted it, send a complaint to the federal public service of finance because they will get fined for such unlawful practices. Money = money you know. As for very small amounts, an amount of more then 50 coins is legally refuseable. You are allowed to use up to 50 coins and it has to be accepted, if you use more they are able to refuse it. Generally It happens very often that people want to refuse the 1 and 2 eurocent coins but again they are legal tender and have to be accepted even if the total is rounded to +- 5 cents which is legal and used often to discourage usage of 1 and 2 cent coins, you are still legally able to use them. Don’t let anyone refuse you using them!
It is not illegal to refuse a €500. Just because something is legal tender does not mean stores are legally obligated to accept it, it is their choice.
@@user-ux2kk5vp7m sorry but at least in Belgium as far as I know, any store has to accept it. There is an exception to this though. A trader that doesn’t have te means to verify the authenticity of the note can refuse it (only in case of €200 and €500 notes) but then they would have to make sure that you as a customer know in advance for example by putting up a sign that explains this, though putting the sign up permanently would also be illegal (why this is the case I don’t know, but it can be only a temporary measure, this is the point where the rules get complicated). This rule is to counter potential fraud, but is very rarely put into practice. A second exception is when the trader in question is unable to provide the necessary exchange money. But generally speaking, no it’s not just up to the shopkeeper to decide what he accepts.
I might also add that cash is the only tender shops are lawfully obligated to accept. Electronic payments are purely optional and can be refused anytime, anywhere. I know of instances payment by card is only accepted for amounts X and up. Whatever traders to with ANY other payment methode other than cash, that’s totally up to them. This applies to the entire eurozone btw!
Hi mark that was nice of u thanks for doing this video it really big help for me and for others us well!u have such a beautiful perspective that's why I always inspired to watch ur videos ur amazing person and also ur wife Jocelyn more power to ur show!!
heads up for people that never payed with Euro's!!! i've seen plenty of tourists doubting wether or not their bills were fake or real. right now the European Union has introduced new designs for the bills. it can occur that you may have 2 different €10 bills, don't worry about it. they are both accepted. if you want to look up the differences you can look for it on google.
Laurens Smit exactly the same happend to me with franc in schweiz when i was there... And like 5 years ago that was the same with kronor in sweden though the old ones ate now useless 😂
When I traveled to Japan I went to my local Chase bank to let them know of the dates and also ordered some ten for my travels. I was also able to use my debit card to get cash at 7-11's
Please note that there are criminal gangs that attach card skimming equipment on ATMs. It can be really well made and hard to distinguish, so make sure to learn what a proper ATM looks like in the city you are visiting.
In Hungary I HAD to pay cash everywhere. A friend of mine couldn't even pay 120$ (converted from HUF) in a massive store like footlocker. He had to get cash at the ATM
Also gas pumps in Hungary are scams, you go buy something for 1.5€ but all you have is 2€ coin and they don't give you that 50c coin, no they give you 50 forints coin. Right now 50c = 157.64 forints, so yeah, half of my school got scammed
In The Netherlands you can feel free to pay with your card when you're in a big chain they prefer it. But smaller places/restaurants defenitly preffer cash
If you travel a lot to Europe consider open an european account like N26 or Leopay, they are free and you can transfer money using Transfewise that charges the lowest fees. I did it when I moved from Brazil to Portugal.
Cards are preferred by shops in Norway, even for the smallest purchases. Cashless cafes and kiosks are becoming more common. In other words, no need to take out much Norwegian kroner (though we do have new bank notes now, they're pretty cool).
Also bring a second debit/creditcard that u keep in the hotel safe. in case u get pick pocket'ed 👍 saves a lot of frustration if youre unlucky and lose your primary card
*Warning:* Not all Visa debit cards can be used outside the United States. What is worse is when the card company gives you the wrong information. I contacted Greendot Visa before my trip and informed them I will be traveling to Paris and asked if the Visa debit can be used there. The representative said it can be used and if there are any problems I can them to approve the charges. So I loaded my Visa debit card with cash. When I arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport, my Visa debit card was declined when I tried to purchase a bus ticket to Paris. When I called Greendot, they changed their story and told me the Visa debit card can only be used in the United States and refused to approve any purchases outside the US "for security purposes". No amount of arguing with a supervisor would change the situation and they accept no responsibility for the erroneous information they gave me before the trip. When I told them I'm in a foreign country with no access to my money on the VIsa debit card, the only suggestion they offered was to use the debit card to purchase a plane ticket back to the US.
From a British perspective, £5 and £10 are fine anywhere for any sized purchase, for £20, try and be sensible, if you're in a corner shop buying gum they'll take it if they have to, but try not to. Don't use £50 notes though, they have to do the security check to see if they're real, when I worked retail we had a pen thing you use to check but we only had 1 for the store and like 8 tills so finding it was a pain etc. If you get cash out the bank or at an exchange place, I'd go into the bank and ask them to break it down for you.
And to sum up Asian community/countries are very cash friendly place we use cash everyday than a card there's even some shop who don't accept card so you need a local cash to purchase the service or the product you desire
@waltersworld we ordered our money from our bank the the states and took the small bills over to NZ and Fiji. Then when you come back you can have the bank exchange it back. The lead time was two days.
You forgot the most important thing to tell your subscribers . Receipts at ATM ,s are written in the local language . So if you want to know the balance of say your prepaid card , you,ll have to ring your bank . Best to take a small notebook with you so you can keep trackof your withdrawals and hence your balance
The problem with having small amounts of cash in multiple spots, You can forget that they are there when it's time to come home... I was in England for a month in 2017 & had a number of 10 pound notes stashed in various places... When I got home over the next month, I found 60 pounds in different places... (that's not including the 300 in my first aid kit, that I thought the staff from my last hotel had stolen. Sorry about that slander folks)...
Had an unscheduled stop in the Netherlands, since i knew i was flying through there i had brought Euros as a backup and when we got stranded in Utrecht, i was one of the few who could go to a nearby store and buy me a snack. I didn't need much, just around 50 to be able to deal with some minor expenses. Another time, i brought cash on a flight to to London, took £1000 with me to pay for the hotel, which i thought were ok since the previous journey had some problems with my credit card not working and i didn't want to end up having problems again. A dog sniffed me at the airport guards asked "Why do you have so much money with you?" and i had to explain myself, the guards assumed that i was out for some criminal dealings. After that incident, i learned that it was possible to pay hotels in advance and go around with much less cash and money on the account that the credit card is connected to, like only money for food and trinkets, which limits the damage a thief could do.
Best rates with debit cards isn't always the case. Sometimes you pay the local bank, your own bank, exchange rate fee, withdrawal fee, extra surcharges and what not, like if you are unfortunate enough to accidentally tap the convert in own currency scam. In countries like Japan and Poland those downtown currency converters gave me cash against the exact conversion rates with only a small commission fee of only €2,50!!
When I was in Iceland I got so confused with the currency 1 euro is 135,894 ISK. So everything looked to expensive. Got some money left over but the exchange place did not take my coins. They are not worth anything. ISK is almost like Greek Drachma. When I was in Greece as a child I could not count that high and had difficulty buying icecream and empty all my money on the counter. I hoped they where honest. I love Euros now haha
Also in Eastern Europe countries, with weak currencies, do not exchange currency at airports. unbelievably high fees, bad bad rate. You realize it when you get out and see at a bank the rates on a board. Even in a coffee shop exchanging currency will be cheaper. Best thing have checked rates prior traveling and a route to your hotel and main places throug google maps all print out
Nice that English is offered at most ATM's in Europe ... unlike parking lot ticket machines in Germany! At least ones I encountered in Rothenburg and Lindau. Wish they were available in English :)
I think ''cash is king'' only applies to tourist stuff, which might be the case for US too if you're a tourist there. Although Southern Europe and less developed parts of Eastern Europe, that's probably right. And mainly due to tax avoidance I would assume. Of course, there are also small traditional places and stalls where it's not because of that, but just because they're small and don't make as much money to be worth to investigate that option.
In countries like Croatia where the euro isn’t the main currency they will try and get you to pay in euros because you end up paying more for something so don’t be fooled!
If you're traveling to western Ireland, be sure to have some Euros on hand as many small, family run businesses only take Euros. I witnessed a traveling companion get in a pickle once because she only has US $ and a credit card and the pub we had lunch at wouldn't take either. We bailed her out, but it was a lesson learned the hard way.
Great advice. I researched this a ton before a recent trip to New Zealand and Australia. I found credit cards give you the best exchange rate and try to have a couple that don't charge foreign transaction fees, I have three such cards that do not charge any annual fee. Also, check with your bank regarding ATM deals in countries you visit, Bank of America has a deal with WestPac a big bank in both countries so there are no local ATM fees. It would end up costing me $4.50 for a $300 WD in the local currency which were both about .70 to a US dollar at the time, the exchange rate was also superior. Say NO to the Travelex booth! If you are a good B of A customer, they will also give you a good exchange rate before you travel and overnight the currency to you. I would imagine other big banks will have such deals. On all of these methods, the exchange rate was 5-10% better than an exchange provider.
They very rarely take credit cards in bars or restaurants (at least in Germany and Spain) when you get out of the tourist zones, also smaller cinemas or things like outdoor activities may be cash only. You also need to look out for bank machine scams, just shake the box where your cards go in and shake it if it even moves a bit dont use this machine.
Don’t use cash in northern europe. In sweden people HATE cash. We have many stores that don’t accept cash. The opposit in southern europe even though they nowadays mostly accept card :) In sweden it normal pay with the phone with ”swish”
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
When the Euro was introduced there were special scrap books to collect every Euro coin from every country. And they still exist with all extensions. Maybe that's something your boys might also enjoy?
They sell all the Vatican coins in Vatican for like 90€
We had something similar with Quarters, when our mint started issuing different designs for states.
@@JeroenJA do you mean the 2 euro ones? They can be used for paying and you often get them as change
Forget cash in the Nordics - Card is king here nowdays... A lot of restaurants and cafés don't accept cash anymore. VISA/Mastercard (AmEx in some places) or mobile payment is the norm.
Simular in poland, but some shops still only take cash. They let you pay with card at 1pln. Just always pay with your card in pln, not your own currency, you won't get any better exchange rate :-) . But the ATM scams you with the exchange rate, first it's lower displayed (ok) but then they pull some extra fees and that is not displayed in the report, you just see it on your bank account. An ask if you can pay card, fell for that, had a sticker on the door accepting everything and than wanted cash. In Germany you need a lot of cash, a lot of shops don't accept CC, even in big malls or at a publuc marked they want cash, and be careful in restaurants...oh, we only take cash,wtf...that is really embarrassing when scratching cash together...but hey, it's total normal running around with 200€ cash in the middle of the night
@@mammutMK2 small shops might not accept card because they have to pay for every transaction.
Elavon and other companies like that take their cut for processing and managing card payments.
I currently work in a sports shop in a rather remote part of Gdańsk, it's kinda far away from everyone, so we don't make huge profits, but, we still have to pay at least 5k every month to Elavon.
For little shops, accepting card for little payments would be crippling, even though very few people carry cash with them in the age of NFC, where your phone is all you need
That's why you need to buy for at least for 10€ in Germany before you can use a DD-card. That way they can compensate the fees
Good luck going out with no cash in Berlin, nearly all of the small Clubs or corner Bars only take cash or you have to make At least 10 Euro which is 4 beer 🤣
Its so funny my Danish BF got a shock in Hamburg when so many places wouldn't take card.
1. Don't use Euronet, as some comments have pointed out
2. If you go to Sweden, don't bother getting any cash, many shops don't accept cash anymore (bank fees, risk of robbery etc.) and you might end up with a pile of Swedish crowns that keeps sinking in value every day (at least for now)
Can confirm that...it's a total scam...exchange rate 15% lower is displayed and then they pull some extra 15% exchange fees that are not displayed,not even on the receipt, it only says you took 100# ...but on you bank account they pull you 130@, and you thought like "ok, 115@". The new way of : what you see, what you expect, and what they really take from you...and now way to complain because you can't proof it (oh yeah, it's standing in the regulations written in 1/32 inch
Risk of Robbery? Sweden is safe what the hell.
It was related to the euro net ATM.
@@gordusmaximus4990 sweden safe ? 😂😂😂😂
Agree. The irony is that Euronet is not even a European company. It's actually an American company based in Kansas. It's just like Haagen-Dazs ice cream is actually an American brand disguised as European. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euronet_Worldwide
In the Netherlands are some Cashless stores. Debit cards are king in the Netherlands.
I've been there last year and my experience was jus the opposite: they only accepted cash in most places
@@norweminguerfochnare9921 unless you are out in the middle of nowhere in the netherlands (very hard to do) just about every store where you go you can pay in cash, use your pin (debit) card or pay using contactless payment.
Almost every store where you can pin you can use contactless payment (it is built in to the machine) however the amount you can pay is capped at around 20-25 euro's.
Debit sucks lmao, credit is superior
Yeah coffee shops dont accept cards
@@IO-hh2fz I am from the middle of nowhere. Our closest snackbar is pin only. So its not only in the middle of nowhere.
Never use a Euronet ATM
Lmao
English is always an option except in France
I get that this is at least partly a joke, but in all honesty, I've had more issues as someone who only speaks English in more rural corners of Italy and Spain than France.
@@ospero7681 But some french do know english, but don't want to speak it, while some italians don't know english but want to get you to understand them with gestures etc...
Davis Schina i mean when you are the most visited capital in the world it is understandable that you get annoyed at tourists
@@ahp2547 or just dont be a dick
A lot of people spoke english in france but not a single one spoke english in italy. I had luck that there are a lot of indian polyglots
Why am I watching this I AM european...
Lol now its half midnight
@@nothingheretowatch7371 where?
@@eccoeco3454 central europian time Croatia
@@nothingheretowatch7371 strange here in Italy Is 23:42 now I thought we shared a time zone
@@eccoeco3454 here is 23:49
One travel hack to use up all your local currency is to ask to pay your hotel bill in cash first when you check out, then put the balance on your credit card!
Trip Hacks DC I don't get it
If your bill is €150 and you have €50 cash that you don't want to take back home, ask to pay your hotel with €50 cash and the €100 balance on your credit card.
Dude, I've been watching your channel! Going to DC end of this month.
Awesome. Enjoy your trip!
Actually this is a great idea. I did this in Chile when I had about $110 leftover and was about to leave for the airport. Paid if off and then did the balance on my credit card.
Part of me was thinking "why didn't I think of this before?!"
I swear your timing with this
topic is impeccable, I leave for Italy this weekend and I was just researching this.
+FemmeK that's awesome. Have a great trip and I hope the video helps!
FemmeK I leave for Italy this weekend as well!!
You both will love Italy!!!
Welcome and have fun then! Where are you going to go? (i'm italian)
arthur staal no answer lol
I once used travelers checks when I went to Europe. They were a pain in the poo-poo hole! Never again!
Now, I pay for my hotel in advance before I leave the US, and then use credit cards for train tickets and other large expenses, and cash for meals and taxis and everything else.
I'm from Belgium, I relate travel check only to 'seen at school in economic' as an old way to get cash in land of arrival at a bank in the before-my-birth past before ATM machine became really common in the south of Europe. (NW europe, south europe and eastern europe are historically economcally totally different things, and still today often want totally different things in monetairy politics.)
I'm from 1984, and don't think my parents used those since my birth , or at least since the 90ties..
or you ask beforehand at you local bank to reserve foreign bills, or you just take from ATM at location, since the 90ties any ridiculous high exchange rates disappeared within Europe certainly for debit card.
Credit cards, I ONLY have one cause for foreign internet shops lacking a debit card option. I consider VISA a real low secure paying method compared to security on a debit card..
I try to do as little transaction as possible cause you have to be ably to spot a month later if anyone overcharged or extra charging ... since just the numbers PRINTED ON THE CARD ITSELF are in almost all anglosaksen countries considered enough to just charge thing on it .. really weird, while with my debit card I have control over the exact amount I approve on for payment when I pay, without any concern after that i would have to check the exact amount charged..
And never never use the local ripoff change offices
+In1998able EVER
Well, since the Euro, that problem has decimated a lot in Western Europe. I was walking in Venice in the 90's and I saw dozens of them, last time it was decimated to around 5. They are hit hard.
Don't change money with random people, you lose your money or your life
Always use an ATM or bank to change (and check via internet of the bank is really a bank because a lot of those offices call themselves a bank to let tourists believe they are reliable).
I used that once because I had no choice (limited time and no other atm while on a school trip). They charged me €20 for €50 that I took :/
I think before you travel to europe you should ask your local bank if they have any partner banks in the country you go to. They take 5-10 euro per withdraw but at partner banks theres usually no fee. Also try to use ATMs by known companies and not one of these public street Atms, there they often have higher fees.
NEVER EVER let them charge your card in USD (i.e. dynamic currency conversion) -- always ask to be charged in the local currency when making a credit card purchase. If you are charged in USD, you will get a terrible rate.
The one you said about the ATM's exchange rates were spot on in my experience in Lisbon. The actual GBP/EUR exchange rate at the time was about 1.08. All the ATM's were offering only about 0.98. We selected the 'decline offer' option and our bank gave us something like 1.07 for the exchange. Saved us around £50.
Christopher Parry Same ATM experience in Croatia,select always 'decline offer', meaning deny fixed exchange rate !
Same, as an American who has never left North America but is still very much a traveler at heart, as well as I am obsessed with local economies and international currencies of all kinds, especially pesos from certain Latin American countries (particularly Mexico and Argentina) or euros from Europe, or pounds from the UK or Australian or Canadian dollars, I always look at the exchange rate AND the fees in case I do happen to travel at any time in my life. And yes, Mark Wolters is right in his advice, when you take cash out, NEVER, EVER take the conversion when they offer it, let your bank back home handle the conversion because oftentimes you can lose 10% just by taking the ATM’s offered “conversion”.
Cash isn't king everywhere in Europe. In Sweden for example you will find not all cafés and restaurants accept cash. Cards are on the other hand accepted everywhere.
+Mehmet Akif Aydoğdu
1 - tablet restaurants are popping up all over the U.S. so ordering, *paying,* tipping is all electronic including receipt
2 - no cash saves time for owners/managers who have to reconcile the sales every night
3 - credit only is accurate to the penny
*But the biggest reason*
4 - it's a well known fact that most customers spend more when using credit cards
Mehmet Akif Aydoğdu they simply save a lot of money; approved cash registers are expensive and the cash have to be handled safely and deposited every day at the bank for a fee. Going "cash free" saves them a lot of work but also speed up payments as card payments are much faster these days, especially for small amounts.
The same is the case in the Netherlands, I haven't carried cash for months now, everything can be (and is even expected to be) done with cash.
The fees on card payments are usually more costly. Some say it's about the danger of robberies, but it's also about Sweden always wanting to be "the most modern country, in the world". Few swedes realise this leads to a totalitarian control state where the banks, and therefore the state, see *_every_* little step you take.
Herr Friberger the cost of handling cash is way higher than the card fees, which also have been reduced in later years.
I agree there is a privacy concern when almost all payments and money transfer is electronic, but to most people it's simply a matter of convenience. Many Swedes have already quit carrying cash around unless they're going abroad, myself included. Many bank offices doesn't even accept cash deposits and withdrawals, and the number of ATMs are going down.
One remedy to privacy concerns is to buy a prepaid debit card, and pay for it in cash.
Just a few comments:
1. Cash is not always king! In Sweden, it is becoming more and more common that stores don't accept cash at all! On the other hand, you can use a card almost anywhere: Buying a newspaper, some strawberries in the market square, an ice cream at the beach - you name it, they will most probably all accept cards!
2. If possible, avoid the ATM:s at the airport or obvoius tourist spots. You get a better exchange rate at the ATM the locals use.
I miss a remark about the number one tourist trap when it comes to money matters: EuroNet ATMs.
Cash is pretty much dead in the Netherlands. Many places don't even accept it anymore. Credit card, or even better your debit card is king. I believe there's a huge north/south difference in Europe these days.
In Europe, they won’t accept your national currency for exchange if it is torn or the bank tellers back home have scribbled on it! This oversight can seriously effect your budget.
My advise is to always bring both a debit card and a credit card. I have been in situations where only my debit card worked.
Just got back from Terceira, Azores, Portugal. Cheap. I used a money belt and a wallet with a chain. Saved me this time.
In Norway often the debit cards have highest fees on withdraw abroad. Many credit card is fee, but on most of them you have to pay interest. So check your cards before traveling - you might save some money.
Second: I would recommend traveling with more than one card - in case on of the stops working.
As a side note if you go to Israel they accept US dollars in lots of places. I took shekels and USD when I went (I'm a Brit) from England and got on fine. In Europe I tend to take the nearest equivalent to £500 in Euros and my debit card to use as you suggest in the local ATMs and that is also a good way to do it.
When carrying cash in Europe in a wallet fold the notes so that the tops cannot be seen and if beggars come to you just give them coins and do not take your wallet out in front of them. There can be someone watching and follow you until they get an oppotunity to relieve you of your wallet.
Stay safe.
For the three euros thing, the false one is the one in the middle, since the one on the left has the Italian back and the one on the right has the German one
Luca Di Cicco and it says $5 😅
In Poland it's now very common to pay with card :) Usually I don't have cash so it's very nice option
it will be only hard in turist places with icecreams, turist gadges etc
Cash is not "the go to" in Norway. You'll be able to pay with card anywhere you go. Also many services, like busses and trains don't accept cash anymore.
So, you have money in your hand but you can't pay anyway? Is that legal?
@@kacperwoch4368 No you can't, not to the bussdriver. Cash is a legal payment so the buss company has to accept it. You'll be able to prepay your ticket with cash at the company headcourters, or at a machine. The company is obliged to accept cash, but the bussdriver isn't. This is done for their own saftey, and also makes the transaction faster. I work at a cashfree hotel, and we have to accept cash, but we strongley encurages the custumer to pay with a card.
@@PSverre That's interresting. The cash vs card payment situation is somewhat different where I live. Many people embraced cash-free payment as the default but the difference is that I have never heared of a place you can't pay with cash or that you may be discouraged from doing so. It's not uncommon to pay in cash for cars or even houses, not to avoid taxes but because people like to see their money. Maybe there is less trust in digital numbers?
I love your videos, they are true and correct specially how to watch out for thieves and pick pockets.
On my trip last year to Madrid, i forgot to put my documents and money in to the safe , I carried them in a shoulder bag during the breakfast in the hotel.
It was stolen within seconds. I had to to to the police station to report the incident. Luckily some of my credit cards was safe in my wallet. I couldn't even get a european sim card without my passport.
After replacing the passport in US embassy , we were able to call all the banks and cancel all the stollen card , check book.
Miraculously police found my bag next day ( less $200 foreign money). This was the first stupid thing i have done in 73 years of my life.
Thanks to the Madrid police and AC hotel manager who allowed us to extend our stay 3 more night w/o charge.
When I visited Prague the summer before last, everywhere that accepted euros was adding a good 50% to the price
0:40 "Russia has the rubble" lol.
It sure does, mate, you're technically 100% correct. But I do think you meant the rouble or ruble there.
Cheers, a fellow traveller.
You just gave him your ruble worth. One ruble equals two cents.
Ruble . Plural Rubles.
Rabble rabble rabble rabble rabble!
Oh and by the way for travellers to the UK the £50 note is looked on with suspicion as in it;s early days it was forged. Try to get £20 or £10 they are more widely acceptable. Banks and Post Offices will usually change notes down if you have £50 notes.
colin Paterson
It’s worthwhile pointing out that if you withdraw money from an ATM in the UK it will be paid out in £10 and £20 notes, so you will have no problem of this sort.
We just returned this week from China, thanks for the great advice prior to our trip, ten memorable days! The ATM required your passport to exchange or withdraw cash. So the hotel concierge was the best place to change dollars. Oh and by the way they would only except "perfect bills" they then recorded each bills serial number. Talk about feeling watched! Lol.
I love your work please never stop. And I wanna say something crazy I'm watching your videos for improve my English lol because your sound very clear to comprehension and please go ahead just like that and never forget that you are talking to rhe world and its mean u have to use a simple language to understood. Thank u again sir
I wished I watched this before my Europe trip last October and November. Had a huge problem with train machines asking for a PIN for all my cards. Good thing I memorized one of my cards' cash advance pin in case I needed to withdraw money and that's what it was. The cash advance PIN! Hahaha. Lesson learned. :)
*WORD OF WARNING* I wanted to use up my Romanian Leu in the airport before leaving but lo and behold they priced all the duty free in Euros. However, one of the shop assistance helpfully (NOT) pointed out there was a currency converter at one of the gates (which probably had a terrible conversion). *LESSON*: Use your currency up before going to airport to avoid being ripped off if using lesser used currencies in Europe.
In the Netherlands we actually prefer if you use your card to pay, even small payments
J Peene same in sweden
In Switzerland you don't have to worry about big bills. You can pay for a bottle of water for 1.- at a small store with a 200.- bill and no one will question you ;)
How much does the 0,5l bottle of water cost in Switzerland?
0.30 - 1.50 Swiss Francs, depends on the brand. But bottled water is actually a bad example, since we have high quality tap water (and even from the fountains in the city) for free ;)
In Germany you would pay around 1.30€ on a Train station for a 0.5l bottle (supermarkets obviously a lot cheaper, around 0.10€ for a 0.5l bottle). Since Switzerland is more expensive than Germany, water probably is also.
Where did you buy a 10 cent bottle of water? At mega chains it might be 15-20 sometimes when it's at a huge discount, but usually it is 35 in huge retails, 50 at smaller retails, 1 at metro, 1-1.5 at places like train stations, airports etc. Water in Germany is drinkable, just like 99% of Europe so it is really smarter to bring a refillable container, as it is unsanitary to refill plastic PET bottles.
@@YukiNoYume I don't think tap water is free (almost but just almost)
Another way to use the last of your currency is to put it on a gift card or something like that. My aunt and uncle travel quite a lot, and they always bring a Starbucks card with them. On their last day of travel (or their last day of using a particular currency) they put most of the money they have left on the Starbucks card. Then they use the Starbucks card when they get back to the states.
In Latvia, before the euro, they had the latvian lat as currency, and that was one of the strongest currencies in the world. It had a 2 lat coin, wich worth 2,84 euros or 3,15 dollars. And that was just one coin! Also there was the 500 lats banknote, which is 711 euro or almost 800 dollars!
I wrote this in another one of your videos on currency but not all here have seen that. When I went to buy Euros at my bank in the US they wanted to charge 10% more than the Exchange rate so I waited until I got to Paris and used an ATM which only charged me 3%. My bank charged me $3.00 for the transaction so it was much less using an ATM in the destination country.
The tip about keeping emergency cash is a great one. Our Mastercard was retained in ATM due to an error in PIN input when on honeymoon in Prague, we weren't offered emergency cash by the bank and had to pay our hotel in cash from a debit card.
To cut a long story short due to delays with the bank we were short of money and it really put a dampener on the honeymoon and my husband's first trip to Prague. One night we could only eat pizza and had to be really careful about what we ordered, not great for a honeymoon! Very frustrating to have loads of wedding cash in an account that we could not access. Even a € 200 emergency stash would have made all the difference, I always keep a stash of cash on trips now in the hotel safe. You never think it's going to happen to you !
Was it a debit card that got eaten by the ATM?
I love your videos so much. I've been a subscriber for a while and I'm really thankful for them. Thank you so much Wolter!!!!
One more thing you can do is convert to the currency of the country you are going to in your bank before going. I don't know how it is in other countries but most banks in Europe seem to offer this service. If they don't have the currency you want at the moment, then you can usually order it and they can get it for you in about two days.
It's not worth it tbh
@@Takador It can be if both currencies are pretty obscure, otherwise you need to either change twice or walk around to find someone that takes what you have. Here I'm mostly talking about physical currency.
Revolut is the best option! It's a prepaid card that works everywhere. Noone is gonna give you that good rates as these guys do
Had a recent experience in Shanghai, China at the airport when trying to get money for the first time: my Visa-branded checking account debit card would not work at all -- at two banks, even after notifying the bank in advance. Ultimately, though, my non-Visa savings account ATM card worked in the same ATM where my Visa debit card was declined. So, it's a good idea to have not only your checking account ATM card, but also your savings account ATM card. This is also good, because if one of your two cards for your two accounts is lost or stolen -- or in the case of a trip to Brazil in 2013, skimmed and used for fraud -- then you can continue your travels and have the ability to take out cash.
A good tip is to make sure the money is current if you are returning as some Notes are changed and some countries do not take the old ones. For example the Czech koruna for the 20 and 50 are now coins not notes anymore, but most places will take the notes if you have them for the 50 Kč
Bank of america doesn't need travel notices anymore but they keep the feature available cus it makes the clients feel at ease
It's not just the ATMs that give you problems if you don't have a chip in the card in Europe. A lot of Europeans don't even know what to do about a card that only swipes. And also places like gas stations sometimes you can only swipe by paying inside. And unlike the States, some of these stations are permanently unmanned. Best to bring a chip card for these reasons and more.
Obvious tip, but what I do is go to a large supermarket chain and buy something cheap with my big bill from the ATM. Big stores have the cash for that.
Prepaid VISA? I had no idea. Sounds smart.
Dang dude, you have a great catalog of videos to watch! Love the content!
Beware of Euronet or Celtic sea ATM’s
To be without money in a country with as many banks as Switzerland has, is a little bit ironic.
If you have coins left, there may be local charities, or a local church, that are happy with them. I've seen this before.
With ATMs, another reason to have a chip card is because they can't be easily duplicated. I've never seen it myself, but I always check if there isn't a small extra bit where you put your card in. It can be deceptively small, and it may happen in shops as well - in fact, it's more likely to happen in a shop than at a bank's ATM. These devices scan your card and transmit them to somebody who can then duplicate your card, and if they read your PIN number over your shoulder, that's all they need.
A few years ago we pickup some English pound bills from our local bank in Canada. When we landed in London we were informed that they were Old Bills and were not in valid. We had to find a branch of our bank in London and get them to exchange the bills for the New Bills. I have found that the UK changes there bills (and coins) every few years. So new we check the Bank of England website to see what is valid and which ones we have to take to the bank once we land. :)
Happened to me outside Windsor Castle, but a nearby bank exchanged it for me.
thanks wolters world for replying =). has made my day =)
Montenegro has a fantastic train ride from the Port city of Bar up to a town on the Serbian Birder I can't remember how to spell its name but it sure is pretty. It was on a TH-cam video.
@2:40, traditional banks will charge very high fees plus give you a rubbish exchange rate. Better off using Revolut, Currensea, Transferwise, Curve, Monzo, Starling or whatever the US equivalent is. With these card you generally get the Intrabank rate or Mastercard rate.
Im just lucky that Europe today has the Euro. I remember times when you had all this different currencies was terrible.
Europe still has different currencies
I was impressed with my Australian bankwest MasterCard I used in Europe fee free! Zip, zero, nada fees!
Bernie in sydney
In Belgium in my experience bigger bills like the €100 are always accepted. The €200 and €500 ones are also accepted when the cashier is able to verify them (if they have a method for this available.) if not, then they can be refused for an unproportionally small amount but if you have to pay like say €450 then a €500 bill will always be accepted because it would be illegal to refuse them in such a situation. If they still won’t accepted it, send a complaint to the federal public service of finance because they will get fined for such unlawful practices. Money = money you know. As for very small amounts, an amount of more then 50 coins is legally refuseable. You are allowed to use up to 50 coins and it has to be accepted, if you use more they are able to refuse it. Generally It happens very often that people want to refuse the 1 and 2 eurocent coins but again they are legal tender and have to be accepted even if the total is rounded to +- 5 cents which is legal and used often to discourage usage of 1 and 2 cent coins, you are still legally able to use them. Don’t let anyone refuse you using them!
It is not illegal to refuse a €500. Just because something is legal tender does not mean stores are legally obligated to accept it, it is their choice.
@@user-ux2kk5vp7m sorry but at least in Belgium as far as I know, any store has to accept it. There is an exception to this though. A trader that doesn’t have te means to verify the authenticity of the note can refuse it (only in case of €200 and €500 notes) but then they would have to make sure that you as a customer know in advance for example by putting up a sign that explains this, though putting the sign up permanently would also be illegal (why this is the case I don’t know, but it can be only a temporary measure, this is the point where the rules get complicated). This rule is to counter potential fraud, but is very rarely put into practice. A second exception is when the trader in question is unable to provide the necessary exchange money. But generally speaking, no it’s not just up to the shopkeeper to decide what he accepts.
I might also add that cash is the only tender shops are lawfully obligated to accept. Electronic payments are purely optional and can be refused anytime, anywhere. I know of instances payment by card is only accepted for amounts X and up. Whatever traders to with ANY other payment methode other than cash, that’s totally up to them. This applies to the entire eurozone btw!
Hi mark that was nice of u thanks for doing this video it really big help for me and for others us well!u have such a beautiful perspective that's why I always inspired to watch ur videos ur amazing person and also ur wife Jocelyn more power to ur show!!
that's why i love your channel short and so useful videos! thank you
Around tourist traps in Prague, there are malicious atms charging extra fees and weird exchange rates to tourists. You may have met one of those.
heads up for people that never payed with Euro's!!!
i've seen plenty of tourists doubting wether or not their bills were fake or real. right now the European Union has introduced new designs for the bills. it can occur that you may have 2 different €10 bills, don't worry about it. they are both accepted. if you want to look up the differences you can look for it on google.
Laurens Smit exactly the same happend to me with franc in schweiz when i was there...
And like 5 years ago that was the same with kronor in sweden though the old ones ate now useless 😂
When I traveled to Japan I went to my local Chase bank to let them know of the dates and also ordered some ten for my travels. I was also able to use my debit card to get cash at 7-11's
Great tips! We are going to Europe shortly and it helped us a lot.
Please note that there are criminal gangs that attach card skimming equipment on ATMs. It can be really well made and hard to distinguish, so make sure to learn what a proper ATM looks like in the city you are visiting.
A debit card is different from an ATM card - just make sure whatever card you're going to use links to a checking account NOT just a savings account
In Hungary I HAD to pay cash everywhere. A friend of mine couldn't even pay 120$ (converted from HUF) in a massive store like footlocker. He had to get cash at the ATM
Also gas pumps in Hungary are scams, you go buy something for 1.5€ but all you have is 2€ coin and they don't give you that 50c coin, no they give you 50 forints coin.
Right now 50c = 157.64 forints, so yeah, half of my school got scammed
In The Netherlands you can feel free to pay with your card when you're in a big chain they prefer it. But smaller places/restaurants defenitly preffer cash
Discover is now used in some countries. Best to ask when you call your credit card company.
Not going to Europe anytime soon but I like watching these videos! Such good info! 😁😁
If you travel with a new card or a new procedure, try it out in a local ATM to make sure it works before you go. Also no PINs >4 digits.
If you travel a lot to Europe consider open an european account like N26 or Leopay, they are free and you can transfer money using Transfewise that charges the lowest fees. I did it when I moved from Brazil to Portugal.
Great advice as usual. :)
Cards are preferred by shops in Norway, even for the smallest purchases. Cashless cafes and kiosks are becoming more common. In other words, no need to take out much Norwegian kroner (though we do have new bank notes now, they're pretty cool).
I rarely ever use cash, hardly ever carry bills or use an ATM. All is done by card or digital banking. This is in Norway, and most people are like me.
Also bring a second debit/creditcard that u keep in the hotel safe. in case u get pick pocket'ed 👍 saves a lot of frustration if youre unlucky and lose your primary card
*Warning:* Not all Visa debit cards can be used outside the United States. What is worse is when the card company gives you the wrong information. I contacted Greendot Visa before my trip and informed them I will be traveling to Paris and asked if the Visa debit can be used there. The representative said it can be used and if there are any problems I can them to approve the charges. So I loaded my Visa debit card with cash. When I arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport, my Visa debit card was declined when I tried to purchase a bus ticket to Paris. When I called Greendot, they changed their story and told me the Visa debit card can only be used in the United States and refused to approve any purchases outside the US "for security purposes". No amount of arguing with a supervisor would change the situation and they accept no responsibility for the erroneous information they gave me before the trip. When I told them I'm in a foreign country with no access to my money on the VIsa debit card, the only suggestion they offered was to use the debit card to purchase a plane ticket back to the US.
RaymondHng omg !!!! Their response
From a British perspective, £5 and £10 are fine anywhere for any sized purchase, for £20, try and be sensible, if you're in a corner shop buying gum they'll take it if they have to, but try not to. Don't use £50 notes though, they have to do the security check to see if they're real, when I worked retail we had a pen thing you use to check but we only had 1 for the store and like 8 tills so finding it was a pain etc. If you get cash out the bank or at an exchange place, I'd go into the bank and ask them to break it down for you.
My favourite travel advice channel well done mark 😀
One more thing when you call your CC company or bank ask them if there are any countries where your card absolutely WILL NOT work
And to sum up Asian community/countries are very cash friendly place we use cash everyday than a card there's even some shop who don't accept card so you need a local cash to purchase the service or the product you desire
Great Video. Thank you for posting.
@waltersworld we ordered our money from our bank the the states and took the small bills over to NZ and Fiji. Then when you come back you can have the bank exchange it back. The lead time was two days.
You forgot the most important thing to tell your subscribers . Receipts at ATM ,s are written in the local language . So if you want to know the balance of say your prepaid card , you,ll have to ring your bank . Best to take a small notebook with you so you can keep trackof your withdrawals and hence your balance
Personal Identification Number number.
ATM Machine
or even better Personal PIN number!
I fucking love this guy’s energy ans charisma
The problem with having small amounts of cash in multiple spots,
You can forget that they are there when it's time to come home...
I was in England for a month in 2017 & had a number of 10 pound notes stashed in various places...
When I got home over the next month, I found 60 pounds in different places... (that's not including the 300 in my first aid kit, that I thought the staff from my last hotel had stolen. Sorry about that slander folks)...
Had an unscheduled stop in the Netherlands, since i knew i was flying through there i had brought Euros as a backup and when we got stranded in Utrecht, i was one of the few who could go to a nearby store and buy me a snack. I didn't need much, just around 50 to be able to deal with some minor expenses.
Another time, i brought cash on a flight to to London, took £1000 with me to pay for the hotel, which i thought were ok since the previous journey had some problems with my credit card not working and i didn't want to end up having problems again. A dog sniffed me at the airport guards asked "Why do you have so much money with you?" and i had to explain myself, the guards assumed that i was out for some criminal dealings.
After that incident, i learned that it was possible to pay hotels in advance and go around with much less cash and money on the account that the credit card is connected to, like only money for food and trinkets, which limits the damage a thief could do.
Best rates with debit cards isn't always the case. Sometimes you pay the local bank, your own bank, exchange rate fee, withdrawal fee, extra surcharges and what not, like if you are unfortunate enough to accidentally tap the convert in own currency scam. In countries like Japan and Poland those downtown currency converters gave me cash against the exact conversion rates with only a small commission fee of only €2,50!!
When I was in Iceland I got so confused with the currency 1 euro is 135,894 ISK. So everything looked to expensive. Got some money left over but the exchange place did not take my coins. They are not worth anything. ISK is almost like Greek Drachma. When I was in Greece as a child I could not count that high and had difficulty buying icecream and empty all my money on the counter. I hoped they where honest. I love Euros now haha
I bought something in airport in Iceland thinking it was $5, turned out to be $50, still ok, it was artwork.
Also in Eastern Europe countries, with weak currencies, do not exchange currency at airports. unbelievably high fees, bad bad rate. You realize it when you get out and see at a bank the rates on a board. Even in a coffee shop exchanging currency will be cheaper.
Best thing have checked rates prior traveling and a route to your hotel and main places throug google maps all print out
Nice that English is offered at most ATM's in Europe ... unlike parking lot ticket machines in Germany! At least ones I encountered in Rothenburg and Lindau. Wish they were available in English :)
Don Travis: English is the only language offered at cash machines in England.
I think ''cash is king'' only applies to tourist stuff, which might be the case for US too if you're a tourist there. Although Southern Europe and less developed parts of Eastern Europe, that's probably right. And mainly due to tax avoidance I would assume. Of course, there are also small traditional places and stalls where it's not because of that, but just because they're small and don't make as much money to be worth to investigate that option.
In countries like Croatia where the euro isn’t the main currency they will try and get you to pay in euros because you end up paying more for something so don’t be fooled!
User14674 not true! We do NOT accept euros. Whoever tries to do that is scamming you.
ATM destroyed a lot of historical buildings in Prague :/
If you're traveling to western Ireland, be sure to have some Euros on hand as many small, family run businesses only take Euros. I witnessed a traveling companion get in a pickle once because she only has US $ and a credit card and the pub we had lunch at wouldn't take either. We bailed her out, but it was a lesson learned the hard way.
Where is western Ireland? Northern Ireland uses British pounds and the Republic of Ireland ( south)uses Euros.
@@jimmcdiarmid7308 seriously? It's been 3 years, since I posted. Move on.
Great advice. I researched this a ton before a recent trip to New Zealand and Australia. I found credit cards give you the best exchange rate and try to have a couple that don't charge foreign transaction fees, I have three such cards that do not charge any annual fee. Also, check with your bank regarding ATM deals in countries you visit, Bank of America has a deal with WestPac a big bank in both countries so there are no local ATM fees. It would end up costing me $4.50 for a $300 WD in the local currency which were both about .70 to a US dollar at the time, the exchange rate was also superior. Say NO to the Travelex booth! If you are a good B of A customer, they will also give you a good exchange rate before you travel and overnight the currency to you. I would imagine other big banks will have such deals. On all of these methods, the exchange rate was 5-10% better than an exchange provider.
They very rarely take credit cards in bars or restaurants (at least in Germany and Spain) when you get out of the tourist zones, also smaller cinemas or things like outdoor activities may be cash only. You also need to look out for bank machine scams, just shake the box where your cards go in and shake it if it even moves a bit dont use this machine.
iv loved watching your videos man, you have no idea how much you have helped me =). i will be leaving for Europe on the 15th first time cant wait =).
+grant ballard thanks Grant. We want these videos to help other travelers and it's great to know they are helping.
+grant ballard thanks Grant. We want these videos to help other travelers and it's great to know they are helping.
Don’t use cash in northern europe. In sweden people HATE cash. We have many stores that don’t accept cash.
The opposit in southern europe even though they nowadays mostly accept card :)
In sweden it normal pay with the phone with ”swish”
In Poland there is a lot of stores where card is not acceptable...
Netherlands accepts cash and cards but not always creditcards
In Netherlands most people use there phone to pay scan