Is cash still King on camino?

[hunsta]

OK. Hope this doesnt sound like a silly question. But I last walked the French Way back in May 2015. Yes I know only 6 years ago. But things can change.
Back then ,cash was king in most situations. And understandably so. Lots of small rural centres. With little electronic money transfer facilities.
My question is. And it really doesnt bother me. Just something I was thinking on. Have things changed in that respect over the last 6 years? Or is Cash still King?
Cheers
Craig

 

[Kanga]

It was the last time I walked. Cash everywhere except hotels and in the bigger places. But that was in 2019, before Covid. With hygiene protocols here in Australia, pretty much everything is now "touch and go" with credit cards. I still can't see that happening in the rural areas of Spain. Set-up costs I imagine would be prohibitive for small businesses.

 

[henrythedog]

There now seem to be remarkably few places - even market stalls - in the UK that not only can take cards, but appear to prefer them. I suspect that rural Spain - which has a good 3G/4G network - will be heading that way.

I am a little surprised that the change here has been so rapid, even with the purported risk of COVID. I’d go so far as to say that I think cash transactions here will be regarded as unusual in a few years’ time, if not absent altogether.

 

[Marbe2]

On the CF we predominantly stay at private albergues, small hotels, pensions, Casa rurals, etc. About 90+ percent of them did take credit cards! We usually charge the evening meal as well if we eat there. Visa or Mastercard are widely accepted. Most chain supermarkets take them as well. Always charge it in Euros with a card that does not charge a foreign transaction fee. I keep a two day cash supply available just in case. The less cash the better it is for me.

 

[hunsta]

It was the last time I walked. Cash everywhere except hotels and in the bigger places. But that was in 2019, before Covid. With hygiene protocols here in Australia, pretty much everything is now "touch and go" with credit cards. I still can't see that happening in the rural areas of Spain. Set-up costs I imagine would be prohibitive for small businesses.

Thats what I pretty much expected. This was a topic that was covered way back in 2014. When I started my research for my 1st Camino back then. Think you may have even commented Kanga. I kinda remember your name as being a fellow aussie.
I do understand with covid, contactless payment would be a preferred method in larger towns or city centres. But yes cant see the smaller townships being that way. I always had a couple of hundred euroes on me at any time.

 

[Jim ME]

My Camino was in Sept/Oct 2019. I had Mastercard and my bank debit card. I typically took cash from ATMs when I could and paid with Euros. I did this because the smaller Albergues get whacked a fee with each credit card processed. Given all we get from them, I just felt it important to give them cash and save them the fees. Most of them appreciated that. Some did prefer the plastic option.

 

[Albertagirl]

I began my last camino, in 2019, on the Madrid. In the city of Madrid, it was easy enough to get cash from machines, but that cash was in large denomination bills, unusable for a pilgrim. And the banks themselves did not have any cash, so it was not possible to change large bills. I think that I saw on another thread that it is possible to get some smaller bills if you request different amounts from the usual. For example, I always withdraw 300 eros, but if I requested 290, I might get a couple of 20's, instead of all 50's. This is, in any case, sometimes a challenge, to think ahead and not find yourself with no small bills when you need to pay for your bed in an albergue. I suppose that I could buy some euros before I leave home, where I can ask for what I want. But I believe that the exchange rate is slanted in favour of the money changer. I have almost always used cash on camino, but I fear that may not be possible in the future.

 

[JabbaPapa]

It's still basically cash -- so refill at the cash points that there are, every few days.

The card will work in many places, but some tiendas in the more isolated pueblos may be cash only, and you can come across some restaurants or bars that are cash-only from being in an internet blind spot. And for small amounts of expenditure in a bar or café or bakery, it's socially expected that you'll pay in cash not card.

Of course things will vary hugely from one Camino route to another -- infrastructure will naturally be more solid on the Francès than on any other route.

 

[hunsta]

Thanks for the replies people. Yeah guess I'll just do as I did 6 years ago. Have cash on hand. Just wanted to know if things had changed in that respect much.
Cheers
Craig

 

[ivar]

Just to note that during the pandemic, Spanish banks (for Spanish customers) have really been pushing people to use "tap to pay" (with the actual card or Apple Pay or Google Pay). The use of this has really grown over the last year and you will find it available in many places, at least in stores and even smaller businesses. In the last 12 months I find myself barely using cash anymore.

This may not be the case for albergues though... not sure.

 

[SioCamino]

Just to note that during the pandemic, Spanish banks (for Spanish customers) have really been pushing people to use "tap to pay" (with the actual card or Apple Pay or Google Pay). The use of this has really grown over the last year and you will find it available in many places, at least in stores and even smaller businesses. In the last 12 months I find myself barely using cash anymore.

This may not be the case for albergues though... not sure.

My experience in Ireland is very similar and so i have wondered would the same happen in Spain even in rural areas. Since February last year i have hardly ever used cash and even the smallest shops bakeries coffee huts market stalls etc all prefer contactless payment. Cash payments are actively discouraged.

 

[Kathar1na]

I've also been wondering how Covid-19 recommendations and rules have accelerated the move to electronic and digital payment along the caminos in Spain. I have made the same observations where I live as others have made: contactless payment and other forms of non-cash payment are now preferred or offered, even by pop-up fruit stalls along a country road.

Official recommendations issued last year to pilgrims in Spain advised that pilgrims should prioritise payment by mobile app or card although they should not forget to bring métalico (coins cash) for the donativo in the albergues de acogída.

I don't use payment apps on my phone yet but anyone who has a mobile phone can in principle make and receive payments through this method and no further investment is required. Whether you are in favour of carrying a mobile phone or not or are indifferent, you may know how well in particular the Camino Frances is covered by Spanish mobile phone providers and how many pilgrim albergues can be reached via WhatsApp. So I guess that much of the infrastructure for non-cash payment is already available and in place.

 

[Marbe2]

My Camino was in Sept/Oct 2019. I had Mastercard and my bank debit card. I typically took cash from ATMs when I could and paid with Euros. I did this because the smaller Albergues get whacked a fee with each credit card processed. Given all we get from them, I just felt it important to give them cash and save them the fees. Most of them appreciated that. Some did prefer the plastic

IVAR SAID #10

Just to note that during the pandemic, Spanish banks (for Spanish customers) have really been pushing people to use "tap to pay" (with the actual card or Apple Pay or Google Pay). The use of this has really grown over the last year and you will find it available in many places, at least in stores and even smaller businesses. In the last 12 months I find myself barely using cash anymore.

I understand your sentiments about fees...you can always add a “tip” if you are
Wanting to off set the fee. If you pay 15 euros for your bunk bed add a euro on to that amount...it will more than cover the approximate 30 cents your albergue owner is being charged based upon circa two percent fee!

In addition, if you can eat at the albergue add that into one the transaction...some Albergues allow this.
If you spend 40 euros @ 2 percent that is 80 cents.
1 euro still covers the fee! IMO using tap technology keeps us and the owners safer as Ivar suggests.

 

[ivar]

The fees used to be a thing, but I think the banks has also reduced them now.. this is less of an issue than it used to be I think.

 

[LTfit]

Just to note that during the pandemic, Spanish banks (for Spanish customers) have really been pushing people to use "tap to pay" (with the actual card or Apple Pay or Google Pay). The use of this has really grown over the last year and you will find it available in many places, at least in stores and even smaller businesses. In the last 12 months I find myself barely using cash anymore.

This may not be the case for albergues though... not sure.

Don't expect municipal or parochial albergues to have credit or debit card payment options, though many privates may.

The only reason I offered this service last year in my albergue was because my bank (BBVA) offered me a pin machine for a monthly fee of €10 with no added charge per transaction. I was surprised how many pilgrims used the service!

 

[Marbe2]

The fees used to be a thing, but I think the banks has also reduced them now.. this is less of an issue than it used to be I think.

I've also been wondering how Covid-19 recommendations and rules have accelerated the move to electronic and digital payment along the caminos in Spain. I have made the same observations where I live as others have made: contactless payment and other forms of non-cash payment are now preferred or offered, even by pop-up fruit stalls along a country road.

Official recommendations issued last year to pilgrims in Spain advised that pilgrims should prioritise payment by mobile app or card although they should not forget to bring métalico (coins cash) for the donativo in the albergues de acogída.

I don't use payment apps on my phone yet but anyone who has a mobile phone can in principle make and receive payments through this method and no further investment is required. Whether you are in favour of carrying a mobile phone or not or are indifferent, you may know how well in particular the Camino Frances is covered by Spanish mobile phone providers and how many pilgrim albergues can be reached via WhatsApp. So I guess that much of the infrastructure for non-cash payment is already available and in place.

If you are stay at a booking.com property, many locations have arranged the option to take payment, the day before you arrive ( usually past the cancellation date anyway) so as to avoid this type of transaction at the accommodation’s desk.

 

[FRM]

I use cash 90% of the time. The exceptions being when I stay in hotels in the larger towns. Has @Albertagirl points out, often times getting smaller bills or breaking larger bills can be a challenge. I use the larger bills in bigger establishments (chain grocery stores, pharmacists and the like) and set the change aside for use in the smaller establishments. There is nothing like the glare of a bartender when you pull out a €50 euro note to pay for a glass of wine to make you appreciate €10 euro note.

 

[Marbe2]

I use cash 90% of the time. The exceptions being when I stay in hotels in the larger towns. Has @Albertagirl points out, often times getting smaller bills or breaking larger bills can be a challenge. I use the larger bills in bigger establishments (chain grocery stores, pharmacists and the like) and set the change aside for use in the smaller establishments. There is nothing like the glare of a bartender when you pull out a €50 euro note to pay for a glass of wine to make you appreciate €10 euro note.

I usually have plenty of change to pay for small items. if anything ,I am always trying to get rid of coins....who wants to slug them around for10 miles!

 

[lt56ny]

As long as cash works I will use it. For me it allows me to track my spending much more closely. It is only my personal preference. I have found that when I rely on credit cards, for some reason I end up spending over my budget.

 

[Jim ME]

IVAR SAID #10


I understand your sentiments about fees...you can always add a “tip” if you are
Wanting to off set the fee. If you pay 15 euros for your bunk bed add a euro on to that amount...it will more than cover the approximate 30 cents your albergue owner is being charged based upon circa two percent fee!

In addition, if you can eat at the albergue add that into one the transaction...some Albergues allow this.
If you spend 40 euros @ 2 percent that is 80 cents.
1 euro still covers the fee! IMO using tap technology keeps us and the owners safer as Ivar suggests.

Very good idea (tip or extra) and I think contactless payments make total sense as they open up. Thanks for all the comments.

 

[henrythedog]

I've also been wondering how Covid-19 recommendations and rules have accelerated the move to electronic and digital payment along the caminos in Spain. I have made the same observations where I live as others have made: contactless payment and other forms of non-cash payment are now preferred or offered, even by pop-up fruit stalls along a country road.

Official recommendations issued last year to pilgrims in Spain advised that pilgrims should prioritise payment by mobile app or card although they should not forget to bring métalico (coins cash) for the donativo in the albergues de acogída.

I don't use payment apps on my phone yet but anyone who has a mobile phone can in principle make and receive payments through this method and no further investment is required. Whether you are in favour of carrying a mobile phone or not or are indifferent, you may know how well in particular the Camino Frances is covered by Spanish mobile phone providers and how many pilgrim albergues can be reached via WhatsApp. So I guess that much of the infrastructure for non-cash payment is already available and in place.

I’d be embarrassed to pay with coins at a donativo.

I recall a very good busker at the Edinburgh fringe several years ago. Their challenge is to deliver a performance, gather a crowd, then solicit worthwhile donations before they conclude and the audience disperse.
Coming to the end he said, now please take out some money ... fold it up ...

He got a laugh and quite a few slowly put the coins away and produced some real money.

 

[henrythedog]

I usually have plenty of change to pay for small items. if anything ,I am always trying to get rid of coins....who wants to slug them around for10 miles!

Agreed.

I keep a pot of €1 coins at home to take with me every time. I get in the habit of dropping a couple of € in my rucksack whenever I have ample in my small coin purse.

Last time I returned home I found I was carrying nearly €50 in small change

 

[Kathar1na]

I’d be embarrassed to pay with coins at a donativo.

I thought at first that métalico means coins but when I checked an online dictionary I saw that it means cash.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

He got a laugh and quite a few slowly put the coins away and produced some real money.

Not all coins are created equal...just saying.

 

[Marbe2]

Agreed.

I keep a pot of €1 coins at home to rake with me every time. I get in the habit of dropping a couple of € in my rucksack whenever I have ample in my small coin purse.

Last time I returned home I found I was carrying nearly €50 in small chan

Beat you! I flew home abt 5 years ago with 10 - 2 Euro coins and 37 single euros + small coins...after having spent nearly 50 euros in change at Dublin Airport!

 

[Lance Chambers]

My Camino was in Sept/Oct 2019. I had Mastercard and my bank debit card. I typically took cash from ATMs when I could and paid with Euros. I did this because the smaller Albergues get whacked a fee with each credit card processed. Given all we get from them, I just felt it important to give them cash and save them the fees. Most of them appreciated that. Some did prefer the plastic option.

I do the same. Carry enough cash for about a week at a time.

 

[pepi]

The fees used to be a thing, but I think the banks has also reduced them now.. this is less of an issue than it used to be I think.

As I pointed out in a similar thread a while ago (a moderator erased my contribution, because he/she felt that it broke some rules...), there is another reason why albergues prefer cash.
Payments made by card, Apple- or Google Pay etc. leave traces to which the Spanish IRS has access.

 

[ivar]

As I pointed out in a similar thread a while ago (a moderator erased my contribution, because he/she felt that it broke some rules...), there is another reason why albergues prefer cash.
Payments made by card, Apple- or Google Pay etc. leave traces to which the Spanish IRS has access.

There is nothing strange about this. If you use a card to pay, the money goes into the bank account of this business. This means that the transaction needs to have the correct sales tax (normally 21% in Spain). It means it goes "on the books".

If you pay in cash, the owner of the business may decide to just pocket the money and not pay the 21% sales tax.

There is no secret access to anything..

 

[henrythedog]

It’s the same the world over and explains why governments are happy to see contactless payments displacing cash.

 

[pepi]

There is nothing strange about this. If you use a card to pay, the money goes into the bank account of this business. This means that the transaction needs to have the correct sales tax (normally 21% in Spain). It means it goes "on the books".

If you pay in cash, the owner of the business may decide to just pocket the money and not pay the 21% sales tax.

There is no secret access to anything..

This is what I tried to point out in my post exactly.....

The savings on VAT and income tax accumulated is, therefore, a much more important incentive for albergues to insist on cash than the small card fee.

However, - and hopefully-, this will change after covid; imagine: an entire Camino without the cash hassle, no fear of theft and loss, defective ATM's eating your card....!

 

[TinaPEI]

Maybe I am being purely selfish, but I prefer cash. My credit and debit cards both charge extra fees on top of the exhange for foreign transactions. This was why I took out about 300€ instead of smaller amounts. If my bills were bigger amounts, sometimes I paid for my friend and she repayed me kind of thing.

 

[andylm65]

Is PayPal only an American thing?

 

[henrythedog]

Is PayPal only an American thing?

No. It’s becoming commonplace as an option for online transactions.

 

[SioCamino]

I use PayPal for online transactions but use Google Pay on my phone for contactless payments - i have it set up to link to my Revolut account to which i transfer money to via my credit card (sounds convoluted but I didn't want to link it directly to my real bank account). Anyway, i would guess that given google's ubiquity around the world this could be a cheap way of paying using your phone while in Spain i.e. avoiding any bank fees for foreign transactions. Worth checking out anyway!

 

[camino.ninja]

OK. Hope this doesnt sound like a silly question. But I last walked the French Way back in May 2015. Yes I know only 6 years ago. But things can change.
Back then ,cash was king in most situations. And understandably so. Lots of small rural centres. With little electronic money transfer facilities.
My question is. And it really doesnt bother me. Just something I was thinking on. Have things changed in that respect over the last 6 years? Or is Cash still King?
Cheers
Craig

You still have to carry cash. You can not buy a one euro coffe with your credit card. But way more places introduced support for contactless credit cards.

 

[Vince Rollason]

OK. Hope this doesnt sound like a silly question. But I last walked the French Way back in May 2015. Yes I know only 6 years ago. But things can change.
Back then ,cash was king in most situations. And understandably so. Lots of small rural centres. With little electronic money transfer facilities.
My question is. And it really doesnt bother me. Just something I was thinking on. Have things changed in that respect over the last 6 years? Or is Cash still King?
Cheers
Craig

My last Camino was in 2019 and the simple answer is yes cash is still king.

 

[Madamjoy]

I wouldn’t say it’s ‘king’.. I walked 2019 and used my credit/debit card more frequently than my previous walk in 2017. At least 80% of albergues and hostels accepted a card. I think the availability of internet has.allowed even small bars to accept cards .. tap and go. Of course you should carry some cash but not as much as before. I kept 50 to 100 E with me snd it would last a while.

 

[taigirl]

I imagine the introduction of inexpensive card readers such as The Square Reader will see the disappearance of cash in most places.

 

[trecile]

I use PayPal for online transactions but use Google Pay on my phone for contactless payments

I had trouble with Renfe accepting my credit card, so I used PayPal to buy train tickets online. My US bank credit card didn't have a contactless chip in it, so I started using Google Pay on my phone when I was in Spain. Now I use it every place that accepts contactless payments. Fortunately, neither my credit card nor debit card charge foreign transaction fees, and my Charles Schwab account that I use for travel refunds me all ATM fees when I withdraw money.

 

[JillGat]

Covid is very rarely spread by touching things. Just saying.

 

[Kathar1na]

Covid is very rarely spread by touching things. Just saying.

It doesn’t matter. The Covid-19 health crisis has accelerated digitalisation processes.

Spain is due to receive around 140 billion euros ($167.66 billion) out of the EU’s 750 billion euro coronavirus recovery package in the next few years, and a large part of this must go to green technologies and digitalisation projects. As others have said already, Spanish individuals and Spanish businesses have moved towards cashless payment since March 2020 just like people and businesses in other countries, and the process is regarded as irreversible.

I don't know to which extent municipal albergues and similar albergues already use or will use such payment options. While following current forum threads, I was reminded that next to everyone where I stayed used a computer to enter my ID card details and to directly send them to the Guarda Civil or keep them to provide them if required. I don't know how many other places still keep handwritten lists of the pilgrims and other guests staying with them. I can't say how much of a technical or philosophical hurdle the use of cashless payment options would be.

 

[VNwalking]

The Covid-19 health crisis has accelerated digitalisation processes.

A pity for those who live outside the narrowly defined concentional box. Not everyone wants plastic, but this forces it on them.

 

[Kathar1na]

A pity for those who live outside the narrowly defined concentional box. Not everyone wants plastic, but this forces it on them.

I assume that everyone who has a bank account has a card, a tarjeta. Again, I am not too familiar with the situation in Spain but from what I hear and see they are in line with developments in other European countries. Even to get cash from your own account, you need your card. You will be lucky if you still get it from a person at the bank's counter and they don't send you to a machine to get it yourself. And remember that unlike elsewhere, cheques are barely in existence anymore in numerous EU countries. I wonder whether the Spanish government sends paper cheques to people, for example. My guess is that they don't.

As others have said, I've noticed that my own behaviour has changed over the last year. I used to pay small amounts in cash, now I use the card for every payment where it is possible, and contactless where it is possible, because now that I have it, I find it convenient. ("card" usually means debit card).

 

[VNwalking]

I assume that everyone who has a bank account has a card

True enough, but not everyone has a bank account. And certainly those pilgrims from places where bank accounts are not universal would be gravely disagvantaged by the loss of a cash economy.

 

[Kathar1na]

certainly those pilgrims from places where bank accounts are not universal would be gravely disagvantaged by the loss of a cash economy.

I don't think that there are any plans to make it a "cashless only" Camino or a "cashless only" economy, just a bit more cashless.