Travel money
Travel money in Switzerland: cash or card?
Cards work everywhere and the francs are the point: euros are accepted in tourist places at a rate the business sets, and your change comes back in francs. Pay in francs and let your own bank do the conversion.
Swiss franc (CHF, CHF) · figures checked against the sources at the foot of this page
Mountain huts, some market stalls, small village businesses, and the honesty boxes on farm gates.
Everything else, contactless included — shops, restaurants, ski lifts, ticket machines, museums.
A modest float in francs. Do not carry euros expecting to spend them well.
Paying in euros. It is accepted in tourist businesses at a rate they choose, and the change comes back in francs.
The money itself
- 10 CHFYellow
- 20 CHFRed
- 50 CHFGreen
- 100 CHFBlue
- 200 CHFBrown
- 1,000 CHFPurple
5, 10 and 20 centimes, then ½, 1, 2 and 5 francs. Coins matter more here than in most card-first countries: lockers, toilets, luggage trolleys and mountain huts still want them, and the 5-franc coin is worth carrying rather than breaking.
Switzerland still issues a 1,000-franc note, one of the highest-value notes in circulation anywhere, and it is genuinely used. A cash machine will not usually hand you one, but if you are given one, spend it at a bank or a large shop rather than a café.
Every way to pay, and whether it works for a visitor
Whether a payment method exists in Switzerland and whether you can use it are different questions. This table answers the second one: no local bank account, no local SIM, no residency.
Visa / Mastercard
WorksAccepted essentially everywhere, contactless included, from a mountain restaurant to a ticket machine. There is no domestic scheme standing in the way as there is in Germany.
Apple Pay / Google Pay
WorksWorks anywhere contactless does, which is nearly everywhere, and clears larger amounts without a PIN.
Cash (Swiss francs)
WorksAlways accepted and worth carrying a little of: mountain huts, farm shops with honesty boxes, some market stalls and older machines want coins or notes.
Euros
Works, with a catchTaken by hotels, airports, station shops and businesses near the borders — at an exchange rate the business chooses, and with change given in francs. It is a convenience priced as one. Convert properly or pay by card instead.
TWINT
Residents onlyThe Swiss payment app, used for everything from splitting a bill to paying a market stall, and tied to a Swiss bank account and phone number. Worth knowing about only because a stall displaying nothing but a TWINT QR code cannot take your money at all.
American Express
Works, with a catchBetter accepted here than in most of Europe — hotels, department stores, restaurants in the cities — but not universal. Keep a Visa or Mastercard for the rest.
Cash
Switzerland is a card country that has kept a real cash habit, and the two coexist without friction. You can spend a week on a card alone in Zurich or Geneva; go up a mountain and you will meet a hut, a farm shop or a cable-car kiosk that would rather have francs.
The float to carry is small but should be in francs, not euros. Coins are worth keeping for the specific things that still want them — lockers, station toilets, luggage trolleys, the honesty box beside a fridge of cheese on a hiking path.
Withdraw francs rather than bringing euros to spend. Every euro handed over in a Swiss shop is converted at a rate the shop sets, and the change comes back in francs at that same rate.
Cards
Card acceptance is close to universal and contactless is the norm, including at ticket machines, ski lifts, museums and mountain restaurants. Terminals are quick and PIN entry is rarely required for ordinary amounts.
The thing to get right is the currency the transaction is billed in. Terminals in tourist areas routinely offer to charge you in euros, pounds or dollars — that is dynamic currency conversion, priced by the merchant's processor. Choosing francs is always cheaper, and it is the answer at cash machines too.
American Express does better here than in France or Germany, but a Visa or Mastercard is still the card to rely on.
ATMs
Swiss bank machines — UBS, Raiffeisen, the cantonal banks, PostFinance — generally do not add their own surcharge on a foreign card, and they are everywhere including small towns and every station.
The machines that cost money are the independents in airports, stations and resort centres, which charge a few francs and push the conversion offer. Given how easy Swiss bank machines are to find, there is rarely a reason to use one.
Take francs, decline conversion, and withdraw a sensible amount at once. This is an expensive country and the fee per withdrawal, where you incur one, is best spread across a larger sum.
Changing money
If you are arriving from the euro area with euros in hand, change them at a bank or a station exchange rather than spending them in shops. Shop rates are set for convenience, not competition, and you lose on every transaction rather than once.
Cash machines beat exchange counters for most people. Airport and main-station bureaux are the least favourable option available.
Francs are worth keeping if you return often; otherwise spend down before you leave, since Swiss coins in particular are difficult to change anywhere else.
Costs that are not the price
Service is included
Swiss law folds service into the price, so the bill is the bill. Tipping is genuinely optional — rounding up to the next franc or two after a good meal is the whole custom, and nothing is expected in cafés or bars.
Paying in euros costs you
Where euros are accepted, the business sets the rate and the change comes back in francs. Over a trip it adds up quietly. Pay by card in francs, or convert properly, rather than treating euros as spendable.
Tourist tax per night
Almost every municipality charges a Kurtaxe on accommodation, added per person per night at check-in or check-out. It frequently includes something useful in return — a local transport pass or free travel in the resort — so it is worth asking what it covers.
You can reclaim VAT if you live outside Switzerland
Switzerland is outside the EU, so EU visitors can reclaim too. The minimum is CHF 300 in one shop on the same day, VAT is 8.1%, and the form has to be stamped at the border on the way out — which is easy at an airport and easy to miss when leaving by road or rail.
Paying for transport
There is no tap-and-go at the barrier
Swiss stations have no gates to tap and the trains have no readers: you buy a ticket before you travel, in the SBB app, at a machine or at a counter. The app's EasyRide feature checks you in and out by phone and bills you afterwards, which is the closest thing to contactless travel here.
Passes are usually the cheaper answer
Point-to-point fares are high, and the Swiss Travel Pass, Half Fare Card and regional passes exist because of it. For any itinerary with more than a couple of long journeys, working out the pass maths before you arrive is the single biggest saving available.
Mountain transport is its own price list
Cable cars, funiculars and cogwheel railways are often excluded from national passes or discounted rather than covered. They take cards; the surprise is the amount rather than the method.
What you may carry in and out
Declaring cash at the border
Switzerland sets no limit on money brought in or out and requires no declaration up front, but customs may ask you to state amounts of CHF 10,000 or more and to explain their source. Note that crossing into the surrounding EU triggers the EU's own €10,000 declaration rule.
Cash payments are not capped
There is no general ceiling on paying in cash in Switzerland, though dealers must run identification checks on large cash transactions.
Common questions about money in Switzerland
Can I pay in euros in Switzerland?
Sometimes, and it costs you. Hotels, airports, station shops and businesses near the borders accept euros at a rate they set themselves, and your change comes back in Swiss francs. It is a convenience, not a saving. Pay by card in francs, or change money properly at a bank.
Do I need cash in Switzerland?
A little, in francs. Cards work almost everywhere, but mountain huts, farm honesty boxes, some market stalls, lockers and station toilets want coins or notes. A small float covers it.
Can tourists use TWINT?
No. TWINT needs a Swiss bank account and phone number. It matters only when a small trader displays a TWINT code and nothing else — in that case they cannot take your money at all, and cash is the fallback.
Are there ATM fees in Switzerland?
Swiss bank machines generally do not surcharge foreign cards, and they are easy to find in any town or station. Independent machines in airports and resorts charge several francs and push dynamic currency conversion. Take francs and decline the conversion offer.
Can I tap my bank card on Swiss trains?
No — there are no gates or readers to tap. Buy before you board: the SBB app, a machine or a counter. The app's EasyRide checks you in and out by phone and charges afterwards, which is the nearest equivalent.
Should I tip in Switzerland?
Only if you want to. Service is included by law, so the printed total is complete. Rounding up to the next franc or two after a good meal is the entire custom.
Can I claim VAT back in Switzerland?
Yes, and EU residents can too, since Switzerland is outside the EU. Spend at least CHF 300 in one shop on the same day, ask for the form, and get it stamped by customs as you leave — straightforward at an airport, easy to forget at a road or rail border.
Where these figures come from
Checked against the following on . Fees and thresholds move; where a figure varies by bank or by machine, this page gives the range rather than inventing a single number.