Credit /Debit Cards in Germany

[crablab]

The Netherlands actually also has it's own system for micropayments, Tikkie, though that's much less advanced than the systems in the Nordics

Tikkie is a subsiduary of ABN Amro. It's very Dutch specific and really marketed as a P2P payments network - basically Dutch Monzo.Me

But in today's political climate where Europe needs to be more independent from the US, I see Europe having its own payment system independent from Visa and Mastercard as a worthwhile endeavour. It is backed by the European Commission and so hopefully it can include all SEPA members, including non-Eurozone countries like the UK.

This is the correct answer: Wero is intended to be a EU wide payments network, which runs on the SEPA rails, to challenge the Visa/Mastercard duopoly.
Country specific payment networks are nothing new at all - AliPay/WeChat in China, Japan has had IC cards (Suica, Passmo etc.) for decades.
There are more localised payment networks springing up now; Pix in Brazil is another good example - it's relatively new but now has significant market share.

Some companies build a global product which integrates with many of this local payment rails, so you can pay like a local.

Sounds like Maestro will have to be supported for years to come.

No, Maestro is going away. Mastercard wish to stop supporting SMS (single message system) transactions fairly promptly.
With regard to @DanielB, each issuer will have a different phase out process and dates where they need to stop issuing replacements. New cards have not been permitted for a long time now. I don't remember what the end date for Maestro is now but all cards will need to be replaced before then.

 

[DanielB]

Sounds like Maestro will have to be supported for years to come. Bunq stopped issuing Maestro cards nearly two years ago

ABN Amro started issuing Mastercard Debit cards in October 2025, but no indication on how quickly they plan to rollout to all customers.

 

[Dougal2345]

Would you carry a similar amount of cash [€150] when travelling around the UK? For most people that would be far too much. I don't see that it makes much difference if you are travelling within the UK or in the Eurozone. In both cases you will probably have banknotes and coins that could be used on a future trip.

I'm neither wealthy nor profligate, but I wouldn't consider that an excessive amount to carry, although I would normally carry less than half of that in the UK.

It can soon get eaten away during holiday activities - €25 for a preserved railway trip here, €10 for a tower viewpoint there, €15 for food and drink (often from a supermarket in my case).

What I'm not clear on is why any traveller would not carry a cash float of, say, €100 with them, even when their preference might be to use cards over cash...

 

[The exile]

Would you carry a similar amount of cash when travelling around the UK? For most people that would be far too much. I don't see that it makes much difference if you are travelling within the UK or in the Eurozone. In both cases you will probably have banknotes and coins that could be used on a future trip

When travelling round the UK, yes (at least at the start of a trip). On a day out from home, probably not.

 

[blimmo]

What I'm not clear on is why any traveller would not carry a cash float of, say, €100 with them, even when their preference might be to use cards over cash...

I only ever carry enough cash to cover something like a restaurant where I pay after the liability becoming due and could therefore be rather caught out if they turn out not to accept card. Everything else in the unlikely event they don't take card I'll find an ATM and come back.

My reasoning is simple: card transactions are much more convenient and I don't have to guess how much cash I'll need for the rest of the trip.

 

[biko]

When travelling within the Eurozone, I tend to carry the amount of cash that I would also carry at home (in the Netherlands). If going to Germany, I check that it is more than €50 because it is much more of a guess when you would need cash (restaurants for example), while in other countries I travel to, cash is only really needed for small shops in which I only spend small amounts.

When going to the UK, Switzerland or Scandinavia, I find it difficult. I would like to use as little cash as possible because it’s much more expensive than paying by card (my bank has a fixed fee per ATM transaction outside the Eurozone on top of the conversion rate). But I also see why it’s useful to have some cash as back up. I’ve been to the UK multiple times and I know people that go there more often so it’s easy to obtain some pounds but going to Norway and Sweden last year, the decision was more difficult because we didn’t plan on returning soon. We decided to not get any cash and it all went fine. You can use card everywhere and it also means that possible outages will be a problem for all locals.

 

[rvdborgt]

I'm always intrigued as to why countries like Poland have overtaken Germany in this respect - PKP buffets accept cards without comment.

A few days ago we were in one that was cash only. We didn't have any PLN but the waiter used Google to convert and showed us the result in euro...

 

[HantsExile]

Nope ! The reason why cash is preferred is to save on taxes - a very common occurrence in Berlin. Did you always receive receipts ?

That (tax avoidance) did cross my mind ...

I'm fairly sure we received receipts when we asked for them but didn't always ask!

 

[DanielB]

When going to the UK, Switzerland or Scandinavia, I find it difficult. I would like to use as little cash as possible because it’s much more expensive than paying by card (my bank has a fixed fee per ATM transaction outside the Eurozone on top of the conversion rate). But I also see why it’s useful to have some cash as back up.

For Switzerland I prefer to have some cash with me as especially for small payments the transaction fees are high compared to the payment itself. Tend to exchange in advance, ordering online so no additional fees are charged.

And obviously it's always wise to check which card you use. Outside the eurozone transaction fees are generally lower for my creditcard than for my debit card, so I mostly use the creditcard.

 

[Verulamius]

Earlier this month we had a holiday to Munich and Garmisch Partenkirchen.

Munich was ok with cards; we used the MVGo app to travel around. One restaurant applied a surcharge for non EU cards.

In Garmisch and surrounds it was cash preferred and we had to get more out at an ATM. A number of restaurants were not accepting cards.

 

[johncrossley]

One restaurant applied a surcharge for non EU cards.

Is that legal? How do they even identify a card that isn't from the EU?

 

[Porty]

Visiting Munich last September, me and my partner were glad that we had taken cash since the Augustiner Bierhalle (on the main shopping street) did not take card (although 'helpfully' an ATM was provided near the entrance... Glad we didn't have to pay those fees!). Incidentally we got more cash out whilst we were in Munich from a bank's ATM and got more euros for our pounds than at the bureau de change in the UK.

Yes. Normally a much better rate at any ATM abroad (even if there's a fee). I have a Starling account for this very purpose. Bureau de change are always an expensive option.

 

[rvdborgt]

For Switzerland I prefer to have some cash with me as especially for small payments the transaction fees are high compared to the payment itself.

For non-euro payments, I use Revolut, which has a very low transaction fee as a percentage of the amount, often between 0.2 and 0.5%. That's way cheaper than the 2.15% my credit card wants.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 May 2026 ==

Is that legal? How do they even identify a card that isn't from the EU?

Good question. Since the UK is part of SEPA, it might not be legal. Complain to the German financial authority.

 

[in_luzern]

For Switzerland I prefer to have some cash with me as especially for small payments the transaction fees are high compared to the payment itself.

My impression is that among locals, even cards are being used less in Switzerland for small payments - more and more people use Twint, a QR code-scanning payment method which I assume is similar to the Nordic examples mentioned above. All the major supermarkets and other shops accept it. Can also be used to send money directly to a mobile phone number (linked to an e-banking app), which makes it very popular for payments in Christmas markets, fairs, local clubs, etc.

However, it's linked to the major Swiss banks, which makes it very country-specific as you have to have an account at one of these banks. It would be good if Europe (geographically not politically) could get its act together and roll out something that could be used across the continent, but I guess this is wishful thinking.

 

[rvdborgt]

It would be good if Europe (geographically not politically) could get its act together and roll out something that could be used across the continent, but I guess this is wishful thinking.

I hope Wero will replace those country-specific systems. It will in a number of countries, so hopefully it will eventually cover at least the SEPA area.

 

[BahrainLad]

When travelling in Europe I use a combination of Revolut (spending a € balance I've built up when the rate is good) and the Virgin Atlantic credit card (which has the remarkably unpublicised benefit of not charging fees when spending in the EU*)

I find Berlin to be the worst place in Germany at accepting cards. Many restaurants and bars particularly outside of the centre will only take cash. Those also happen to be the neighbourhoods where ATMs that don't charge excessive fees (i.e. those run by banks rather than the Euronet ones etc. you find in small shops) are getting harder and harder to find which is annoying.

For trains/U-bahn etc. and Lime bike (very widespread in Berlin!) I use the respective DB/BVG/Lime apps running off Revolut.


*e.g. they will charge fees when spending in CHF, but not charge in CZK

 

[riceuten]

Is that legal?

I think as long as they don't discriminate against their own customers

How do they even identify a card that isn't from the EU?

Simple - the first 6 digits of your card says where your card is from. I have a Dutch bank account and card that allows me to sidestep this, though sometimes you are not warned about this in advance. When DCC was more of a thing, you had card machines that would automatically apply DCC at an abysmal rate for countries outside the eurozone, unless overridden, and in Spain, I was frequently told this was "not possible".

More than once I just walked away from a trolley full of shopping that El Corte Ingles tried to rip me off for, then miraculously it was possible.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 May 2026 ==

Good question. Since the UK is part of SEPA, it might not be legal. Complain to the German financial authority.

BaFin ? Good luck with that.

 

[rvdborgt]

BaFin ? Good luck with that.

Have experience with them? The one thing that's for sure is that not complaining won't change anything.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 May 2026 ==

One restaurant applied a surcharge for non EU cards.

Come to think of it: were you charged in euro or GBP? If the latter, then that may be legal, but you must have the choice to pay in euro. If you were charged in euro, then AFAIK no extra charges may be applied for common means of payment (this includes common credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard).

 

[Verulamius]

Have experience with them? The one thing that's for sure is that not complaining won't change anything.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 May 2026 ==


Come to think of it: were you charged in euro or GBP? If the latter, then that may be legal, but you must have the choice to pay in euro. If you were charged in euro, then AFAIK no extra charges may be applied for common means of payment (this includes common credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard).

I was charged in Euros no GBP alternative. I was surprised and queried it but the waiter did not know anything more as the charge was automatically added by the machine.

As a consequence I did not leave a tip.

 

[DeverseSam]

I bought a bus ticket from a machine in Innsbruck recently. It offered DCC as the first option, so if I had just clicked the OK button it would have gone through as GBP. I had to scroll down before selecting EUR and then OK. Cash machines also try similar tricks sometimes.

Had I had the right coins I wouldn’t have had this problem in buying the bus ticket

 

[Mirjamsterdam]

Good question. Since the UK is part of SEPA, it might not be legal. Complain to the German financial authority.

SEPA means nothing here: that’s about bank transfers, not cards. There are EU rules against charging higher fees for cross-border (but within the EU) card payments than domestic ones, but that won’t help those with cards from outside the EU.

As for the ‘EC card’ thing in Germany, that either means all debit cards or only the national brand Girocard. Often the employees saying they only accept EC card don’t even know which one it is at that specific point of sale. So your non-German debit card may work or not - only way to find out is just by trying it…

 

[biko]

for small payments the transaction fees are high compared to the payment itself.

Interesting, for me it doesn’t matter as it’s a percentage of the transaction

Outside the eurozone transaction fees are generally lower for my creditcard than for my debit card, so I mostly use the creditcard.

At my bank, it’s exactly the other way around as generally the Mastercard debit conversion rate is better than for credit cards

 

[Bald Rick]

What I'm not clear on is why any traveller would not carry a cash float of, say, €100 with them, even when their preference might be to use cards over cash...

The only place I have used cash this decade is at my barbers. That includes multiple trips to France, Switzerland, and the US, including quite rural parts of all of them. I have no need for cash, and don’t ever carry any (except to the barbers, where the trip between cashpoint and barber is about 20 metres).

Is there anybody here who at some point hasn't seen a sign in a business saying that they temporarily can't take payment with bank cards?

Yep. Happened three times to me. In one case resolved by doing a bank transfer from my phone (took about 30 seconds), in one case (family owned restaurant in the Alps) I was given a chit that was effectively a reverse IOU where I promised to pay the next day, and in the last case (Loch Muick car park) I was asked to do a bank transfer when I could. Obviously the car park was a small amount, but the Alps restaurant was north of €100.

So no, no need for me to carry cash. Apart from the barbers (and I’m working on him).

 

[AdamWW]

To be pedantic, you probably mean "tax evasion". "Tax avoidance" is doing things which save tax legally (for example, saving in an ISA instead of a savings account outside of an ISA).

My turn to be pedantic. Saving in an ISA is just optimising your tax affairs.

Tax avoidance is (so far as HMRC are concerned) "bending the rules of the tax system to try to gain a tax advantage that Parliament never intended."
Legal (if done right) but against the spirit of the law.
(https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tax-avoidance-an-introduction)

 

[NCT]

I almost never carry cash these days. Hopping through Poland and the Czech Republic I've never had problems with using my card. In parts of former East Germany city transport cash machines did struggle with my non local card however and I had to withdraw small denominations from a bank cash machine.

 

[crablab]

When DCC was more of a thing, you had card machines that would automatically apply DCC at an abysmal rate for countries outside the eurozone, unless overridden, and in Spain, I was frequently told this was "not possible".

I was charged in Euros no GBP alternative. I was surprised and queried it but the waiter did not know anything more as the charge was automatically added by the machine.

There's an automatic Mastercard chargeback right for DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion) that the customer did not agree to. No evidence is required beyond DCC being applied and cardholder statement that they did not agree to it.

There is no defense to this chargeback, and the correct resolution is to accept at First Chargeback and re-present for the local currency amount.

This is obviously quite expensive for the merchant and impacts their chargeback rates (thus risk profile & processing costs) and so it's now rare for merchants to be very pushy about DCC...

Good question. Since the UK is part of SEPA, it might not be legal.

It has nothing to do with SEPA.

The EU prohibits surcharging of cards issued within the EEA. The UK is not part of the EEA and is thus not included.

This also meant that, upon leaving the EU, interchange was no longer capped (by EU law). It has now been capped within UK law: https://www.psr.org.uk/our-work/card-payments/the-ifr/

However, the IFR only applies domestically. So the rate of interchange on non-UK transactions (eg. within the EEA) is now higher, whereas previously it was capped EU-wide.

 

[Bahnopa]

For fee-free foreign currency transactions I have a Currensea card linked to my HSBC current account. Currensea's exchange rate is also extremely keen. These days I find in Germany that contactless payments via Google Pay on my smartphone are getting much easier.

 

[DanielB]

Interesting, for me it doesn’t matter as it’s a percentage of the transaction

At my bank, it’s exactly the other way around as generally the Mastercard debit conversion rate is better than for credit cards

My bank charges a fixed fee + percentage for debit cards and a (slightly higher) percentage for credit cards. So until a certain spending the credit card is actually cheaper.

 

[Bletchleyite]

My bank charges a fixed fee + percentage for debit cards and a (slightly higher) percentage for credit cards. So until a certain spending the credit card is actually cheaper.

I'd suggest anyone whose bank charges a fixed fee needs to consider changing banks. It's an archaic practice that predates large scale use of debit cards abroad, and really needs to be knocked on the head.

 

[AdamWW]

For fee-free foreign currency transactions I have a Currensea card linked to my HSBC current account. Currensea's exchange rate is also extremely keen. These days I find in Germany that contactless payments via Google Pay on my smartphone are getting much easier.

Chase bank accounts are pretty good - no fees and decent rates (or at least they were last time I checked).
It doesn't need to be a main account and I don't think they even do a credit check that shows up on credit records if you apply.
You do need to be able and willing to do everything via an app though.
Their policy of keeping the physical card number a secret can also cause problems.