ATMs, Currency Exchange, and Credit Cards (2024)

Paris >Practical advice > Money

ATMs, currency exchange, and credit cards

ABOVE: Most Parisian cashpoints have menus inat least four languages, including English.

ByDurant Imboden

Obtainingcash and using credit cards are easy in Paris, but there are a few things youshould know before you stick your wallet in your pocket and head for France.

The euro

France belongs to the euro zone. (Its old currency, thefranc--or, more accurately, the "new franc"--was retired in 2002.) Please don'tembarrass yourself and annoy the locals by trying to pay or tip in dollars,pounds sterling, or another foreign currency.

Getting money from ATMs or cashpoints

Your best source of cash is an automated teller machine (ATM) orcashpoint. You'll find ATMs on banks and post offices all over Paris, and mostof them have step-by-step instructions in your choice of French, English, andother languages.

Here's our advice on using ATMs:

• Before leaving home, tell your bank that you'll be visitingFrance. (In the U.S. especially, somebanks--even large ones--disallow foreign transactions for security reasons unless they've beennotified ahead of time.)

• Be prepared to use a four-digit numberic PIN. If your bankuses a six-digit PIN or a combination of letters and numbers, ask the bank to changeyour PIN or to provide instructions for using your ATM card overseas.

• You'll nearly always pay a small transaction fee on cashwithdrawals outside your bank's ATM network. What you may not know isthat many banks have foreign-exchange surcharges of up to 5 percent onoverseas cash withdrawals. If your bank has such a policy, you may want tochange banks.

• We advise carrying ATM cards for two different banks, justin case one of your cards doesn't work. Also, look for an ATM beforeyou run out of cash, because it can be frustrating to encounter a "networklink down" error message when you're wallet is empty.

Currency exchange

ATMs nearly always have better rates than currency-exchangeoffices and hotel reception desks. (Not long ago, a Travelex office in Europewas charging an 8.5 percentcommission on U.S. dollar notes, plus a €3,50 handling fee. The rate atthe bank in Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport wasn't much better.)

If you insist on exchanging cash or traveler's checks, try tolimit the amount, because changing money back into your own currency at the endof your will mean yet another exchange commission.

Using credit cards

Visa and MasterCard are accepted by most shops and restaurants,though smaller merchants, some neighborhood restaurants or bars, and streetvendors may not take credit cards. (Also, restaurant tips are normally given incash.) American Express is accepted at higher-end boutiques and restaurants thatcater to tourists.

Warnings:

• Many credit-card companies now impose surcharges on foreigntransactions, and these surcharges can range from 2 to 4 percent or more. Ifyou have several credit cards, learn which one has the lowest surcharge, anduse that card for your trip.

• Some credit-card issuers decline foreign transactions unlessyou've notified the company of your travel plans ahead of time. It's a good idea tocall the toll-free number on the back of your card before leaving home, just tomake sure that your card will be honored while you're abroad.

For moreadvice on cash, credit cards, VAT refunds on shopping purchases, and othermoney-related topics, read these articles from Europeforvisitors.com:

About the author:

Durant Imbodenis a professional travel writer, book author, and editor who focuses on Europeancities and transportation.

After 4-1/2 years of covering European travel topics for About.com, Durant andCheryl Imboden co-founded Europe for Visitors (including Paris for Visitors) in2001. Thesite has earned "Best of the Web" honors from Forbes and TheWashington Post.

For more information, seeAboutour site,press clippings, andreadertestimonials.

Top photo copyright © RomanMilert.
Inset photo copyright © imagestock.