Cash on the Camino

Blackcountry pilgrim · May 17, 2022

We are due to walk the CP in June and wondered if any pilgrims on the routes or recently finished could shed some light on whether the Camino is still a cash economy since Covid ?(in the UK many small retailers stopped taking cash and used card machines)
Has anyone seen a similar shift on the Camino?
Thanks

Former member 92300 · May 17, 2022

Cash was still king when I walked in summer 2021 - at least in the many smaller villages. Cities card was widely accepted.

SkyDancer · May 17, 2022

Used cash in most places in Sept/Oct 2021.

Peacemaker · May 17, 2022

My wife and I will finish the CF tomorrow (woo hoo!) and aside from purchases under ten euros, I have almost exclusively used my credit card. There was one albergue that would only take cash, and one who’s CC machine was broken. I try to carry between 100-200 euros in cash and it usually lasts the two of us well over a week. Many places have a ten euro minimum for CC purchases.

antoniu · May 18, 2022

I think the best way it to have both credit card and cash - there are different situations.

DBC · May 18, 2022

Blackcountry pilgrim said:
We are due to walk the CP in June and wondered if any pilgrims on the routes or recently finished could shed some light on whether the Camino is still a cash economy since Covid ?(in the UK many small retailers stopped taking cash and used card machines)
Has anyone seen a similar shift on the Camino?
Thanks

Reach the halfway point tomorrow. Mix of cash and cards so far. Some places and smaller lunch stops are cash only.

Barney12 · May 18, 2022

Just fin my camino...I used cash majority of the time and card for larger purchases like splashing out on a hotel or flash meal

canary · May 21, 2022

Smaller businesses and some private accommodations do request cash. We just arrived in SDC from the central route and probably used cash 40-50% of the time. Before we arrived we watched a YouTube video about atm machine useage and that was helpful. The first atm we used wanted to convert the amount we withdrew to US$ and charge us 12.5% fee. Declined that and asked for it to be done in Euros.

Canito6671 · Jun 26, 2022

canary said:
Smaller businesses and some private accommodations do request cash. We just arrived in SDC from the central route and probably used cash 40-50% of the time. Before we arrived we watched a YouTube video about atm machine useage and that was helpful. The first atm we used wanted to convert the amount we withdrew to US$ and charge us 12.5% fee. Declined that and asked for it to be done in Euros.

@canary , do you happen to have the link to the YouTube video you referenced about ATM machine usage?

henrythedog · Jun 26, 2022

April ‘22. Take cash - nobody refuses it!

Blackcountry pilgrim · Jun 28, 2022

Blackcountry pilgrim said:
We are due to walk the CP in June and wondered if any pilgrims on the routes or recently finished could shed some light on whether the Camino is still a cash economy since Covid ?(in the UK many small retailers stopped taking cash and used card machines)
Has anyone seen a similar shift on the Camino?
Thanks

Well we are 1 day away from Santiago now and I have to say I used my debit card nearly all the way through the trip except donativo stalls etc but I still took some cash to be on the safe side
Thank you for all who offered advice and help

YYC on the go · Jul 27, 2022

canary said:
Smaller businesses and some private accommodations do request cash. We just arrived in SDC from the central route and probably used cash 40-50% of the time. Before we arrived we watched a YouTube video about atm machine useage and that was helpful. The first atm we used wanted to convert the amount we withdrew to US$ and charge us 12.5% fee. Declined that and asked for it to be done in Euros.

@canary Can you share that link with us? Heading out to Portugal in a couple weeks.

Rick M · Jul 27, 2022

YYC on the go said:
Can you share that link with us? Heading out to Portugal in a couple weeks.

I don't have a youtube link, but here's the deal. ATM's and credit card machines in Spain/Portugal will recognize your foreign card. The machine will present you with a choice of debiting your account in xx Euros, or yy $C, $USD, $AUD, or whatever your home currency is. They are counting upon the fact that you can't do math in your head quickly. Well, I can. The Euro is always the better deal by far, or at least that's true for Canadians as the conversion fee by all Canadian banks will be better than what they are offering. Always select Euros as the transaction currency when you use a card. After a few times, this becomes automatic, but the first time you see it, it can be confusing. They're counting on that too!

Friend from Barquinha · Aug 1, 2022

Rick M said:
I don't have a youtube link, but here's the deal. ATM's and credit card machines in Spain/Portugal will recognize your foreign card. The machine will present you with a choice of debiting your account in xx Euros, or yy $C, $USD, $AUD, or whatever your home currency is.
The Euro is always the better deal by far, or at least that's true for Canadians as the
conversion fee by all Canadian banks will be better than what they are offering.
Always select Euros as the transaction currency when you use a card. After a few times, this becomes automatic, but the first time you see it, it can be confusing.

We have found this true all over Portugal at Multibancos (ATMs), and with our Canadian Visa credit card as well. X2 for always say "Euros."

peregrina2000 · Aug 1, 2022

Friend from Barquinha said:
We have found this true all over Portugal at Multibancos (ATMs), and with our Canadian Visa credit card as well. X2 for always say "Euros."

Make that X3. There is no question. Always do a European transaction in Euros, whether it is a credit card or debit card.

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Cash on the Camino

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