They were happy to take even the coins. Jim, "I worked in Basel for over 7 years and I can say without a doubt the the Euro is widely accepted! After arriving from France, I was going to use the facilities prior to boarding my next train, but the Attendant flatly refused to accept Euros. Fortunately, I travel with a variety of currencies but I had to dig my Swiss coins out of my Backpack in a hurry.
Barbara, You may find that some places in Switzerland will accept Euros, but usually they'll charge a dreadful exchange rate, and any change you receive will be in Swiss Francs. They have to go through the trouble of exchanging Euros at their Bank and paying whatever the exchange rate is at the time, so you can be sure they'll charge for that.
I'd suggest estimating your expenses for the day and making a small ATM withdrawal OR use credit cards as much as possible and that way you won't have to be concerned with which currency you have. Barbara, I'm enjoying breakfast in Geneva this morning, weather is fantastic. Yes, euro's will work, but not at an efficient exchange. When using an ATM, you may only be able to withdraw a smaller amount of money than you request and you may get the impression your card or pin no.
Is not working. Re-try and request a smaller amount. We will be in Chamonix-Mt. Blanc tonite. I'm old school, hope this works as I envisioned. Will stop in Annecy as well. Hope to give a good detailed trip report to include Berner Oberland after trip completed. Please sign in to post. Nevertheless, you can pay with euros in many shops, hotels, rail stations and gas stations in Switzerland.
This is convenient if you're only in transit or only stay for one night. Many smaller shops, market stalls, kiosks, etc. Note that the euro is a foreign currency in Switzerland, so accepting it results in extra costs and risks for shop owners. Therefore, if you pay with euros, change will be in Swiss francs and the exchange rate is mostly not in your favor. Credit cards and debit cards are widely accepted, so there is no need to have large amounts of cash at hand.
You can pay larger amounts by cards and take along some cash for smaller payments and places that do not accept cards. Swiss francs can be obtained from ATM's. They are available in all towns. You usually find them at the post office, rail station and shopping center. In general this is the cheapest way to obtain cash. Your bank can provide exact fees. To save time upon arrival, it can be handy to purchase some Swiss francs before you depart.
Wise formerly TransferWise offers an online bank account which can hold many currencies. A low fee is charged when converting money from one currency to the other.
They charge the actual exchange rate, while most banks charge a lower rate in order to keep the difference themselves a hidden fee. Wise has no fees on spending money from any of the currencies in your account. So, your can convert your home currency to Swiss francs for a low fee.
Then, you can spend those francs without any further costs. In all, it's much cheaper than most other banks and credit cards. Convert any amount to Swiss francs low fee. In this article I cover the different means of making purchases whilst in Switzerland and what works best for me. Please see my disclosure policy for more information. It is therefore recommended that when purchasing goods and services in Switzerland, you use the Swiss franc. The one big disadvantage to using a travel money card in Switzerland, though, is that to my knowledge , there are no prepaid cards that allow you to load Swiss francs.
It is recommended that when using a credit card to make a payment, you request that the transaction be processed in Swiss francs — not your home currency — as this way in the majority of cases , you will benefit from a better exchange rate.
There are credit card providers out there who have no fees or very minimal fees for international transactions — in Australia, Macquarie Bank, ING and 28 Degrees are a few examples. Check for: International transaction fees, ATM withdrawal fees, annual account fees. This applies to both international card transactions and ATM withdrawals.
It has no ATM fees, no transaction fees, no monthly account fees, no minimum transactions per month and the most competitive currency exchange rates I have come across. Applying for an account online is simple. See which apps I recommend you download before you travel to Switzerland here. Check for: International transaction fees, ATM withdrawal fees, monthly account fees.
In smaller villages or establishments, cards may not be accepted so having some cash as a standby is also a good idea. Carrying a small amount of cash is also handy in times of emergency, too. Could you get by if your card was lost or stolen or there was a power loss and credit card machines were out of action?
Some travellers prefer to buy Swiss francs prior to leaving home at a bank or foreign exchange store.
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