Cards, ATMs and cash in Cyprus: what to expect

Cyprus has used the euro since 2008, so there is no local currency to convert and no black-market rate to chase. Prices are quoted in euros, and the notes and coins are the same ones you would use in Greece, Spain or Germany. If you are arriving from the UK, US, Canada or Australia, your bank's rate plus any card fee is the only conversion you deal with.

In Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos and the resort strips of Ayia Napa, card payment is the default. Hotels, car-hire desks, supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel stations, chain cafés and most restaurants take Visa and Mastercard, and contactless taps are normal. American Express is accepted in fewer places, so treat it as a bonus rather than a plan. Apple Pay and Google Pay work where contactless is accepted, but a physical card is worth carrying for machines that fail or for small shops that only take a swipe.

Cash still matters in specific places. Village tavernas in the Troodos and Akamas, produce markets, some kiosks, small family-run shops and the occasional taxi expect notes. Town buses are the clearest case: fares are low and you pay by card or with exact change, so keep coins. Tipping is also cash-friendly — about 10% in a taverna if no service charge is on the bill, coins in a café, and a rounded-up fare for a taxi.

ATMs are everywhere in the main towns and at both airports, and most accept foreign cards. The trap is the machine itself, not the network. Standalone ATMs in tourist areas — the ones branded with a currency-exchange logo rather than a bank — often charge a flat fee per withdrawal and offer a poor conversion rate. Bank-branded machines are the safer default. When the screen asks whether to charge you in euros or in your home currency, choose euros: the conversion offered at the machine is almost always worse than your own bank's rate.

Card security is ordinary European practice: chip and PIN, sometimes a signature for small amounts, and a PIN that you should know by heart because some terminals will not accept a signature. Tell your bank you are travelling if it still requires a notice, and keep a second card in a different bag. If a card is lost or swallowed, bank branches in Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos can help during weekday morning hours, but banks close at 13:30 and are shut at weekends, so a weekend loss means waiting.