Athens - Post Report Question and Answers
Are credit cards widely accepted and safe to use locally? Are ATMs common and do you recommend using them? Are they safe to use?
Yes and yes! However, Greece is definitely still quite cash-based. At restaurants and grocery stores, it was easy to use a credit card, but a lot of smaller places preferred cash. - Oct 2023
Yes, though skimmers are popping up more in tourist areas. - Jan 2023
No worries, you'll tap everywhere. - Mar 2022
Yes, widely used and safe. There is an ATM at the Embassy. Banks everywhere that we used as well. - Jan 2020
We use mainly cash for transactions and ATM or cashier at embassy to exchange money. - Mar 2018
Credit cards are widely used. - Feb 2018
Credit cards are highly used here. - Oct 2017
Credit cards are widely accepted. It is relatively safe to use them; skimmers are not a huge thing here yet. - Jan 2017
Due to the economic crisis, most business prefer for you to use cash rather than credit cards. Some restaurants and other places used to take credit cards and now do not, so it is always good to call them in advance to check. We used a credit card at the Makro (now The Mart) and never had an issue. We used ATM machines all over the city on a regular basis and never had an issue or safety concern. - Dec 2016
No problems using ATMs and credit cards at the grocery store, but most Tavernas and Kiosks(newsstands) only accept cash. - Sep 2013
Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere, especially Visa and Mastercard. Diners is also used extensively, and to a lesser extent, American Express. ATMs can be found everywhere, but there have been cases of fraud (fake ATM readers which block your card) and thieves grabbing your money, so try to use sheltered ATMs! - Jul 2012
ATMs are everywhere. - Jun 2010
No problems; ATMs are everywhere, except at the cashiers counter at the grocery store. - Jan 2009
Credit cards are accepted, but cash is preferred. - Dec 2008
I haven't had any problems. I had heard that ATMS run out of cash on the weekends, but I've never experienced that. - Jun 2008
