Germany

Currency and money

The currency in Germany is the Euro. One Euro breaks down into 100 cents. As a rule of thumb the exchange rates to the Euro are approximately:

• 0.70 Pounds Sterling
• 1.1 US Dollars
• 1.5 Canadian Dollars
• 1.5 Australian Dollars

The Euro is the second most common currency in the world after the US dollar, and the same banknotes are used in all the countries in the Euro-zone (each country issues different coins, but these differ only in the picture on the back, and can be used outside their country of issue). Even in the European countries which do not use the Euro as their official currency, it is still very common to find it accepted in larger shops and hotels (sometimes at a suprisingly reasonable rate of exchange). It should not be difficult to exchange into or out of Euros at currency exchanges worldwide.

Travellers Cheques:

As with the rest of Europe, travellers cheques are not as useful here as in North America. Large Hotels and stores may accept them in lieu of cash, but most places will simply direct you to a bank to cash them. Banks can charge fairly high commission for this, especially if you are converting into a different currency. It is generally cheaper (although less dependable) to get cash from a home debit or credit card using an ATM machine. If you get travellers cheques, and will be moving between countries it is probably best to get them in Euros.

ATM Machines:

Germany not short of ATMs. Banks are mostly regionally-based with branches (with ATM attached) almost everywhere. They will pretty much all accept Visa, Mastercard and other cash networks such as Plus, Cirrus and Maestro. Be aware that if a machine retains your card you will probably not be able to get it returned to you - always try to travel with more than one card, and ideally some spare cash in case of emergency.

Credit and Debit cards:

Credit cards are fairly widely accepted in Germany. Visa and Mastercard are pretty much universally accepted. American Express is also fairly widely accepted. The main issue for customers from outside Europe is likely to be Chip and PIN, which foreign cards are sometimes not compatible with. In theory customers should be able to sign for their purchases if this is the case, but not all outlets will allow this. In any event signatures will be checked, and if the card must be used only by its owner.