Have you travelled to Germany recently?

[MorrisZapp]

I'm going soon, never been before. Do they accept contactless payment by card in most places? I've heard they don't always, and sometimes say we don't accept that card (mastercard debit). We'll be in Dusseldorf, not any small towns.

Should I get eg a Monzo card before I travel?

I went to Germany last year including dusseldorf and had no problem with card payments or cash withdrawals

No issues in Berlin.

I've never had an issue using contactless in Germany, even in smaller towns. I think mine are Visa debit though.

Monzo is just a bank account not a prepaid card or anything.
We go to Germany quite a bit and while most places do take cards I usually have around 200e in cash with me just in case. Only time we had an issue was in a Greek restaurant outside Nuremberg where they didn't take cards and we didn't have enough cash. The 2 nearest cash machines didn't work but we gave them what we had and came back next day.

There was one restaurant in Berlin that only accepted cash but otherwise we were fine.

That's really helpful, thanks! Do they ask for chip and pin or is it mainly contactless? I've got my card on my phone but no physical card (for stupid reasons).

I had no problems with visa debit payments in Berlin but did in Hamburg- at least two restaurants we visited did not accept card. Shops in some smaller towns and cities in the north don’t accept visa or Mastercard for even larger purchases e.g i had to pay cash for a 1000€ bike purchase when I lived there. I do think taking some cash is a good idea

It used to be impossible to pay by card, but much more common now after the pandemic. However, I would still advise to carry some cash especially for smaller purchases as some places need a minimum spent for card payments. Some places still do not accept CREDIT cards and a Visa debit card will be refused by their system as a credit card. It really is worth checking before you order or buy just in case. It will be fine most of the time.. Have fun!

Order a new card. I wouldn't want to rely on just one method of payment - lost phone, damaged phone and so on.

I'll definitely take some cash, thanks!

Its variable - especially for credit cards and it seems Visa in whatever form is not as accepted as Mastercard.

We had bad experiences with Visa cards not being accepted at hotels or supermarkets in the past so were prepared but we were still caught out once or twice when we visited last year (most embarassingly at a fancy restaurant that didnt accept cards at all, requiring a cash machine visit at 11pm to draw out £250+)

At Xmas lots of places at the markets only took cash.

No problems using Mastercard in Cologne even in the smallest places.

Not taken cash on holiday in over 10 years, never had an issue

Take some Euro cash with you. Even in the large cities, I've found card payments to be lacking. Germany is still a cash led society. If I recall the research correctly, the average German has 80€ in their wallet along with their debit card, yes debit cards are also preferred over credit cards.

It really depends. In general Germany is still a cash society and they also have their own debit card system which is not necessaritly Visa/Mastercard based.

It definitely got better and contactless is also increasing. But you still find shops/restaurants who aren't offering it and that includes larger cities even international business ones like Düsseldorf.

So I always have some cash with me and always have my card as well.

Just back from Berlin. Didn't need any cash - just used Apple Pay (Mastercard).

I live just outside Düsseldorf - generally day to day you'll be fine with contactless, the limit I think is lower though for having to use your pin too - 50€ I think.

Some places are still cash only - these tend to be bars and restaurants so if in doubt ask first! 'Bar' is the word for cash