← Part of the Iceland money guide
Icelandchecked Jul 2026StraightforwardDo I need cash in Iceland, or can I use cards?
Short answer: barely any. Iceland is one of the most cashless countries on earth, and plenty of visitors complete a whole trip without touching a banknote. The money problem here is not payment, it is the prices.
At a glance
Currency
Icelandic krona (ISK)
Cards
Work essentially everywhere
Carry
Almost no cash
On a card
Choose krona, not dollars
You can go the whole trip without cash. Cards, contactless, Apple Pay and Google Pay work essentially everywhere in Iceland, from a Reykjavik cafe to a remote guesthouse and, unusually, at unattended fuel pumps. Keep 3,000 to 5,000 krona as a just-in-case backup if it makes you comfortable, and know that many visitors never spend it. It is krona, not euros: Iceland is outside the EU and the eurozone, so do not arrive with euros. Always choose krona, not dollars, on any screen. The real budgeting job here is the prices, not the cash.
Card for everything, including the fuel pump
Visa and Mastercard are near-universal, and contactless with Apple Pay or Google Pay is completely standard. That extends further than you might expect: small rural shops, tours, museums, swimming pools and even honesty-box farm stands increasingly take cards. Amex works at larger hotels and shops but is less reliable, so bring a Visa or Mastercard as your main card and a backup from a different bank.
The one place a card is not optional is the self-service fuel pump, which many rural stations are. A pump may ask for a PIN and may place a temporary hold on your card, so travel with a card you know the PIN for, which matters more here than the fee difference between your cards.
The real cost is the prices, not the cash
Cambodia and Argentina give you a cash puzzle to solve. Iceland does not, and instead hands you a price problem: high wages, remoteness and import costs push the cost of a coffee, a bowl of soup, a beer or a short tour well above what most visitors expect. VAT is already in the price, so the number on the tag or the menu is what you pay, which at least makes it easy to see what you are spending.
The practical response is to plan a higher daily figure than you would almost anywhere in Europe, and to look for the cheap wins that exist: the swimming pools, the tap water, which is excellent, a supermarket rather than a restaurant lunch. If you are renting a car, budget the 2026 per-kilometre road tax and the parking-app fees at popular sites too, both of which are billed after the fact and land on your card later.
Krona, not euros, and never dollars on the screen
Two currency mistakes to avoid. First, Iceland does not use the euro, so euros brought from a European leg of your trip will not spend here. Second, when a terminal or an ATM asks whether to charge you in dollars or krona, choose krona: taking the dollar offer is dynamic currency conversion, which runs roughly 3 to 8 percent worse than your own bank's rate.
If you do want a little cash, use a bank ATM from Landsbankinn, Islandsbanki or Arion. They are easy to find in Reykjavik and the towns and thin in the countryside, so take what you need when you see one. Read the on-screen fee, take a modest amount, and remember that your own bank's foreign-ATM charge usually matters more than the machine's. Do not change a large pile of dollars into krona: you will struggle to spend it and lose money changing it back. This guide is written for US travelers departing the US. For more, see tipping in Iceland, taxis and ride-hailing in Iceland, and the Iceland money guide.
Common questions
Quick answers.
Do I need cash in Iceland?
Barely, if at all. Cards and contactless work essentially everywhere, including remote guesthouses and unattended fuel pumps. Keep 3,000 to 5,000 krona as a backup if you like, but many visitors never spend it, and there is no reason to exchange a large sum.
Can I use euros or dollars in Iceland?
No. Iceland is outside the EU and the eurozone and uses the Icelandic krona, so euros and dollars are not accepted in normal shops. Your card handles everything, and it should be charged in krona.
Should I pay in krona or dollars in Iceland?
Always krona. An offer to charge you in dollars is dynamic currency conversion, which costs roughly 3 to 8 percent more than letting your own bank do the exchange. Decline it on terminals and at ATMs alike.
Do I need a PIN for my card in Iceland?
It is worth having one. Self-service fuel pumps, which many rural stations are, may ask for a PIN and can place a temporary hold on your card, so travel with a card whose PIN you know rather than relying on signature or tap alone.
More on Iceland
The little money things nobody warns you about.
- Renting a car in Iceland, and what the insurance skipsIceland inverts the usual advice. Buying the biggest waiver the counter offers still leaves out the damage that actually happens here, because the common claims sit in their own separate categories.
- Tipping in IcelandThis is the easiest tipping page we write. Service is included, wages are decent, and nobody is waiting for a percentage. You can put your mental arithmetic away for the whole trip.
- Taxis in Iceland, and why there is no UberThere is no widespread Uber here, which surprises people. Taxis are licensed, metered, card-friendly and expensive, and the usual way to get one is to book it rather than wave at the street.
Sources, and how this was checked
Last checkedJul 2026
- Central Bank of Icelandthe official reference exchange rate for the krona, published each business day
- US State DepartmentIceland country information for US travelers
Our own readHow close Iceland is to fully cashless, and the small krona backup we suggest, are the True Trip Costs desk's read from recent traveler reports rather than an official figure. The krona rate moves, so check it before you travel. Checked July 2026.
How we checkHow every guide is researched, checked and dated