![]() ![]() I still try to get a taxi on arrival day that will accept a credit card, but in the event that you get to (for instance) your rental apartment and want to put a few things in the fridge then you’ll have some cash to bring to the local grocery store without also having to hunt for a bank. Sidebar: I always exchange some dollars into euro before I leave home, so that I have a little cash when I land. The keypads on Italian bank machines do not have letters on them, so you’ll need to know what your PIN is in numbers – not a 4-letter word you spell out. If you’ve got multiple cards, use the one with the lowest fees.Īnother thing to do before you leave home is make sure you know your 4-digit PIN. Sometimes there are two charges per transaction – a per-use fee and a percentage of the actual expenditure that’s an exchange fee. Keep this information separate from the cards, along with photocopies of the card numbers, just in case.Īlso inquire about what their fees are for using their card in Italy. ![]() In addition to notifying your banks of your upcoming travels, find out what numbers you should call if there is an emergency. Sure, it’s a “free” collect call, but whatever – it is not how you want to spend your time, trust me. Let me tell you, from personal experience, it is just as much fun as you’d expect to have to spend hours on the phone with your bank back home when your card gets put on hold in the middle of your trip. Whatever debit and credit cards you plan to use, or think you might use, those banks need to know when you’ll be gone and where you’ll be going so that they don’t think someone has absconded with your card and taken off to Italy without you. Well before you’re finished packing, tell your banks that you’ll be traveling. Getting Money in Italy: What to Do Before you Leave HomeĮuro notes in a wallet || public domain photo Just in case, though, here’s a little overview about how you get that oh-so-necessary cash when you travel in Italy. I’m thankful those days are behind us, and I suspect many of you are already familiar with taking money out of foreign banks when you travel. When I first started traveling during college, I brought traveler’s checks with me to convert into the local currency. The bottom line is that whatever you’re used to at home, in Italy you’ll need to carry cash. ![]() And although some businesses accept cards, they almost always prefer cash – and they’re not shy about doling out a glare when faced with a card, or about telling you the credit card machine is broken when it’s not. Italians pay for all kinds of things with cash, from the morning coffee to a fancy dinner. In the United States, this is an easy idea to get behind – I rarely carry cash when I’m at home, because even a coffee or a pack of gum or anything else that’s less than $5 is something I can buy with a card without getting dirty looks from the person behind the counter. There used to be a commercial on TV, years ago, that implied paying for anything with something other than a credit card was not only behind the times – it was actively making life difficult for everyone else. Euro banknotes and coins || public domain photo ![]()
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