Cards, ATMs and cash in Latvia: what to expect

Latvia uses the euro, so there is no exchange-rate puzzle inside the country and no need to carry a second currency. Card terminals are the default in Riga: supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, museums, Bolt rides and the airport all take Visa and Mastercard, and contactless or phone wallets work almost everywhere a terminal exists. American Express is accepted less often, so carry a Visa or Mastercard as your main card.

Cash matters at the edges. Riga Central Market stalls, small kiosks, rural cafés and some guesthouses outside the main towns may prefer notes, and public toilets cost €0.50–1 in coins. Tipping is easier in cash. A sensible pattern is to keep €20–50 on you and top up from an ATM when it runs low rather than carrying a large amount.

Withdraw from a bank-branded ATM — the ones attached to banks such as Swedbank, SEB, Luminor or Citadele — rather than a standalone machine in a bar or convenience store, which can add its own surcharge. The ATM will offer to convert your withdrawal into your home currency; decline and let your own bank do the conversion. The same rule applies at card terminals: if asked whether to pay in euros or your home currency, choose euros.

Notify your bank before you travel if it requires it, and check what it charges for foreign withdrawals and card payments. Some cards add a percentage on every purchase abroad, which is worth knowing before a week of café bills. If your card is lost or blocked, a bank branch in Riga is the fastest place to sort it out during business hours.

Latvia is an EU member, so card protections and the euro framework are the same as elsewhere in the eurozone. Chip-and-PIN is standard; signature-only cards can occasionally confuse a terminal, but staff are used to foreign cards.