Money in Portugal: currency, ATMs, cards and tipping

Portugal is a card country. Contactless works on the metro, on buses, in supermarkets, at museum ticket desks and in the great majority of restaurants, including plenty of small ones. You do not need to plan your day around finding an ATM.

Cash still has a job. Tascas with a handful of tables, market stalls, bakeries in small towns, rural bus drivers and some taxi drivers either prefer cash or cannot take a foreign card. A €20 note and a few coins cover it. The one local exception is MB Way, a phone payment app that many small businesses use; foreign cards and foreign phone numbers generally cannot register for it, so treat it as a local system you will not be using.

Two habits save money. First, when a card machine or ATM offers to charge you in your home currency, decline and choose euros — the conversion rate is worse. Second, at ATMs, read the fee screen before confirming: Portuguese banks commonly add a per-withdrawal charge for foreign cards, and the amount varies by bank.

Use Multibanco machines. These are the shared bank network — you will see the red-and-green logo on machines outside branches and in shopping centres. They are the standard, bank-run option and generally the clearest about fees. Independent machines in tourist streets and small convenience stores can carry much higher charges.

Before you confirm a withdrawal, the machine should show the fee and the exchange rate. If the screen offers conversion into dollars, pounds or another currency, decline it and take the withdrawal in euros. Your own bank may also add a foreign transaction fee and its own exchange rate; check your card's terms before you travel.

For card payments, Visa and Mastercard are accepted almost universally. American Express is accepted in hotels and larger restaurants but not reliably elsewhere. If your card is asked for a PIN, use it — chip-and-PIN is the norm, and signature-only cards can be awkward at unmanned machines and ticket barriers.

Tipping in Portugal is optional and modest. Service is included in the bill by law, so nothing extra is expected. Locals round up: a €1.20 coffee becomes €1.50, a €9.50 lunch becomes €10. That is the whole custom in cafés and bakeries.

In a sit-down restaurant, if the service was good, 5–10% is a normal gesture, often left as cash on the table or added to the card payment. Many Portuguese diners leave nothing at all in ordinary places and tip more in tourist-heavy restaurants. Either is acceptable; nobody will chase you.

For taxis and ride-hailing, round up to the nearest euro or two. For hotel housekeeping, €1–2 per day is fine. Tour guides and drivers on a full-day trip are usually given €5–10 per person. Do not tip at supermarket tills, in chain fast food, or at counters where you order and collect yourself.

Prices in Portugal are moderate by Western European standards. A bica (espresso) is around €0.90–1.50, a pastel de nata €1.30–1.80, a weekday prato do dia lunch €10–15 and a glass of house wine €2.50–5. Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve in summer run highest; the interior is noticeably cheaper.

One local rule catches visitors: bread, olives, cheese or small starters placed on your table before you order are charged if you eat them. This is normal, not a scam. If you do not want them, say so and they will be taken away, and you will not be billed.

Cities add a tourist tax per person per night, usually collected by the hotel rather than at the border: Lisbon around €4 and Porto around €3, with more towns introducing one. It is separate from your room rate and often shown as a line on the final bill.

Sort out a card that does not punish you for spending abroad, and carry a small amount of euro cash for the first day so you are not hunting for an ATM on arrival. Airports and train stations have Multibanco machines, but the queues are longer and the rates no better.

If you are travelling outside Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve, raise your cash buffer: small towns and rural areas still lean on cash for buses, taxis and family-run restaurants. Keep coins for bus fares where contactless is not available.

For the wider trip, pair this page with the country overview and the cost breakdown, and check the visa and health pages if you are coming from outside the EU.