Copyright smh
Before a recent rail trek from London to Istanbul, I realised I’d be visiting eight countries which use seven currencies between them. Only the Netherlands and Germany are on the euro, while the others (the UK, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey) have retained their own idiosyncratic notes and coins. This suggests upcoming headaches caused by having to regularly change cash from one currency to another, losing a bit on the rate each time, and piling up various unusable coins along the way. Which made me wonder – could I get away with spending no cash at all, relying instead on contactless payments using my credit card or Apple Pay via my phone and watch? I knew from experience that was possible in the UK, but what about the other countries – particularly traditionally cash-oriented Germany? I decided to give it a go, arriving in London with no cash at all, other than a $50 Australian note I keep tucked away in the back of my wallet for emergencies. Here’s what I discovered: going cash-free in Europe is highly doable, and certainly much easier than before the pandemic. That crisis significantly advanced the adoption of contactless payment methods, and I had no problems paying via Apple Pay across all my visited countries.
