Cash Is King?

Frankybaby66 · Nov 9, 2021

Hi All, when I last walked the Camino (2016 and 2017) cash was pretty much the only way to go. I'm walking the Portuguese route from Porto in May 22 and wondered in the Covid era if this has changed.
Any info gratefully received

Vacajoe · Nov 9, 2021

Credit cards were accepted most everywhere, EXCEPT albergues. Very helpful if you have the contactless chipped card.

Ungawawa · Nov 9, 2021

Cash is still king, but if you have a card with contactless that will be useful for public transport.

peregrina2000 · Nov 10, 2021

Not sure what you mean by “ king”, but I used very little cash on my September Salvador/Primitivo. Cash is of course accepted everywhere if you don’t want to use a card. Covid and concerns about contact are undoubtedly factors.

Roland49 · Nov 10, 2021

You still need cash, especially for the Albergues and small tiendas. There are enough ATM for withdrawal.

klimmo · Nov 10, 2021

I’d say contactless is queen. And some cash for the occasion.

U20C_Katherine · Nov 10, 2021

I paid with my Apple-Pay everywhere even in the smallest of villages… I only used cash for donativo situations

natefaith · Nov 10, 2021

Some places still will not let you use a credit card for transactions under 10€, but for the most part credit cards are accepted. Lots of small cafes have even raised their prices to compensate for the extra credit card fees

I would still carry around about 50€ in smaller bills, just to be safe.

Nick MJ · Nov 10, 2021

I walked the Portugues last month. Most “official” places like museums had little signs saying that contactless was preferred and contactless was accepted pretty well everywhere. Knowing however the charges that banks make for small transactions and the pressures many small businesses have been under during the last 18 months, I always paid with cash for anything under €30 and it was always accepted with a smile.

David with new Kit! · Nov 12, 2021

My preference is contactless but when walking in September 2021 I was surprised how much cash I needed.

Yes, contactless is prevalent, but it was not unusual to be asked for cash even then. The larger establishments were fine, but we didn't do too many of them.

When we do our next Camino September 2022 we will certainly take more cash.

BTW - Other than small villages there was no shortage of ATM's to get cash from, some charged, some did not. (Camino Frances)

movinmaggie · Nov 13, 2021

klimmo said:
I’d say contactless is queen. And some cash for the occasion.

I confess to my ignorance ...what is 'contactless'?

trecile · Nov 13, 2021

movinmaggie said:
I confess to my ignorance ...what is 'contactless'?

Contactless cards have a chip in them that can be read by terminals by just tapping them. The same terminals can also accept payments via phone apps by tapping.

Here's a video that shows how they work

alexwalker · Nov 13, 2021

Cash is king for me. I am old. And fully vaccinated, towards many different nasties, as a former world circumnavigation sailor, now forever pilgrim.

movinmaggie · Nov 13, 2021

omg, I've used my chip since they first came out - I had just not heard the term 'contactless' only 'tap'. Thank you!

trecile · Nov 13, 2021

movinmaggie said:
omg, I've used my chip since they first came out - I had just not heard the term 'contactless' only 'tap'. Thank you!

The chips in the "contactless" cards are different from the chips that in cards that you have to insert into a terminal. My newest cards have both types, because there are still stores here that don't have the contactless terminals.

Contactless cards will have this symbol

https://www.fisglobal.com/en/insights/merchant-solutions-worldpay/article/3-things-issuers-should-know-about-emv-cards-with-chips#:~:text=There%20are%20several%20types%20of,unique%20code%20for%20each%20transaction.

movinmaggie · Nov 13, 2021

I never stop learning - thanks so much for the helpful link.

WGroleau · Nov 13, 2021

When I was in Spain, there were many places that didn't want cards. But I am not surprised that contactless cards are popular now. Some places here (USA) that used to prefer cash won't even accept it now for fear that there are viruses on it!

gowhipple · Feb 17, 2022

U20C_Katherine said:
I paid with my Apple-Pay everywhere even in the smallest of villages… I only used cash for donativo situations

Hi Katherine,

We are going on our first Camino at the end of August. I was in Germany in December and my son was using Apple Pay everywhere. So I'm learning to use it in anticipation of the Camino Frances. Showing my naivete... do you still get credit card charges/fees when you use apple pay? Should I get a no-fee card like with Scwabb and set it up on Apple Pay? Thanks in advance.

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Cash Is King?

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