Switzerland / Money rules

Switzerland money rules

Eight things worth remembering while you are there, each linking to the fuller explanation.

Open it, then press and hold to keep it in your photos. Works with no signal.

1. 1It is francs, and leftover euros will not spendSwitzerland sits outside both the EU and the eurozone while being ringed by it, so euros carried over from the last leg are dead weight. Near a border or in a big station a few places take them, at a rate that punishes you, with change handed back in francs.Francs, and where cards work
2. 2Say francs when a screen offers dollarsThe offer to bill you at home appears on terminals and cash machines alike and costs 3 to 8 percent. In a country this expensive it is the one leak that is entirely optional.Declining the dollar conversion
3. 3Cards do nearly all of it, so carry littleContactless and the phone wallets are taken almost everywhere, which makes a fat wallet pointless here. What still wants coins and small notes is up the mountain: high huts, cable-car kiosks and the occasional rural honesty box.How much cash to carry
4. 4Draw francs from a bank machineThe big banks and the cantonal ones run the machines worth using. It is a low-friction country for this, so there is no reason to accept a worse rate from something standing in a tourist thoroughfare.Getting francs
5. 5The taxi is the expensive way to cross townSwiss taxis are among the priciest anywhere, metered honestly and regulated by the canton, which does not make them good value. The trains, trams and buses are excellent and sensibly priced, and using them is the single biggest saving available here.Taxis against the train
6. 6Uber only turns up in the big citiesZurich, Geneva, Basel and Lausanne have it. Elsewhere you are on regulated metered cabs, so do not build an evening around an app that will not answer in a smaller town.Where the apps work
7. 7Service is in the price by law, so relaxThe custom was absorbed into menu prices generations back and wages are strong, so no percentage is owed and nobody is counting. Rounding up is the local habit, and about 10 percent after a good dinner is generous rather than expected.What tipping looks like here
8. 8No terminal is going to prompt you for a tipThe North American screen habit does not exist here. If you want to leave something you say the total you want charged, or you leave coins on the table, and both are perfectly normal.How to leave it

These are the rules that do not really change, which is why they are worth carrying. Exact fees, rates and prices do move, so check the Switzerland guide for anything current before you rely on a number.

truetripcosts.com/switzerland/rules