# credit cards accepted in Barcelona?



## surabela (May 13, 2016)

Do stores in Barcelona usually accept Master Card, or other credit cards? For example, furniture stores, or other retail establishments?


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

No, credit cards are only popular in the USA, in Europe we still use cash or barter small animals/children/food for goods.

Joking, yes we Euro types use cards...have electric lights and drive automobiles. 

You've not been out of the States much I'm guessing?

Happy xmas


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## surabela (May 13, 2016)

As a matter of fact I have spent a good deal of time in Europe. In my experience, you cannot pay an attorney or other people with credit cards, when you can pay for everything in the US with a card. It seems that many things in Spain are paid directly through bank transfers. Just wanted to make sure I could get my miles. Happy holidays to you as well.


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## jax2bcn (Dec 21, 2016)

surabela said:


> Just wanted to make sure I could get my miles.


Story of my life!!


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

", furniture stores, or other retail establishments? " 

You asked about stores, now your talking about paying a lawyer, please ask right.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

surabela said:


> As a matter of fact I have spent a good deal of time in Europe. In my experience, you cannot pay an attorney or other people with credit cards, when you can pay for everything in the US with a card. It seems that many things in Spain are paid directly through bank transfers. Just wanted to make sure I could get my miles. Happy holidays to you as well.


As @ bob_bob has stated, the larger stores all take plastic. Smaller shops and individuals prefer cash and rarely take plastic. I haven't seen a cheque here in the 10 years we've lived here.

The other thing though is that Europe as a whole (and possibly the world now) are trying to drive out the use of cash so we use contactless cards, transfers etc.


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

surabela said:


> Do stores in Barcelona usually accept Master Card, or other credit cards? For example, furniture stores, or other retail establishments?


:rofl: Funniest question I've seen for a very, very long time. Barcelona is, of course, extremely backward, never sees a tourist, doesn't have banks or technology and you have to pay in reales, pieces of gold or goods. Don't forget to hire a donkey and cart to take your purchases home if you don't have your own. 

Merry Christmas!


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## skip o (Aug 1, 2011)

surabela said:


> Do stores in Barcelona usually accept Master Card, or other credit cards? For example, furniture stores, or other retail establishments?


While all big stores and many small stores take credit cards in Barcelona, credit cards are nowhere as accepted in Barcelona as they are in the US. My experience in the US was that lawyers, accountants, plumbers, 100% of the online stores, pretty much everyone takes credit cards. That is not the case in Barcelona. My Barcelona lawyers, my accountants, my hot water heater, various home renovations and several European online stores all had to be paid by bank transfer.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

surabela said:


> Do stores in Barcelona usually accept Master Card, or other credit cards? For example, furniture stores, or other retail establishments?


Would you be using a credit card issued by a Spanish bank, or a US one? I normally have no trouble using my UK-issued credit card for flights, hotels in Spain and most store purchases, but recently I was buying a TV online from a Spanish supplier and my card was declined. I was contacted subsequently by the card provider who said they had blocked my card as there had been "suspicious activity" on my account. Not sure why they were so over zealous on this occasion as the amount was lower than some hotel bills they've authorised without question, but apparently it didn't fit my normal spending pattern. I used my UK debit card to pay for the TV instead and that went through without any problem.

If you're buying a big ticket item on a US-issued card, it might be worth contacting your provider in advance to give them notice so they won't block the card. We did that earlier this year when going on holiday to the Far East and all our purchases there went through with no problems.


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## mickbcn (Feb 4, 2013)

surabela said:


> Do stores in Barcelona usually accept Master Card, or other credit cards? For example, furniture stores, or other retail establishments?


You are joking?


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## surabela (May 13, 2016)

Thanks! And Merry Christmas!


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

On a serious note, I'm aware that many US credit cards don't operate with a PIN and you have to sign to authorise payment (don't know why because that seems really backward to me). If you have a PIN, you should not have a problem; if you don't have one it might be worth contacting your credit card provider to see if they can issue you with one as it will make card purchases much easier in Europe. I have no idea why an earlier poster said they were unable to use their card for online purchases; maybe the suppliers were small artisans, but it would be very unusual not to be able to use your credit card for online purchases.

Many people choose to open a local bank account and apply for a credit or debit card, simply because they get way better exchange rates via fx companies that far outweight any points available through your card provider.

Cheers.


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## crshedd (Apr 13, 2016)

my limited knowledge of european use of credit cards is woeful. however, i did have just a little issue with my card when there 2 years ago. my bank, even to this day, has not issued chip readable cards. they still use the magnetic strip. almost everywhere (in my limited experience) in europe uses the chip. i did run across a couple small establishments (mostly restaurants) that couldn't read the magnetic strip. make sure you have the new chip on your card. the usa is finally switching to the more secure chip.


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## jax2bcn (Dec 21, 2016)

EverHopeful said:


> On a serious note, I'm aware that many US credit cards don't operate with a PIN and you have to sign to authorise payment (don't know why because that seems really backward to me). If you have a PIN, you should not have a problem; if you don't have one it might be worth contacting your credit card provider to see if they can issue you with one as it will make card purchases much easier in Europe. I have no idea why an earlier poster said they were unable to use their card for online purchases; maybe the suppliers were small artisans, but it would be very unusual not to be able to use your credit card for online purchases.
> 
> Many people choose to open a local bank account and apply for a credit or debit card, simply because they get way better exchange rates via fx companies that far outweight any points available through your card provider.
> 
> Cheers.


The US is currently converting their entire system from 'swipe and sign' to 'chip & pin'. American CCs are becoming more and more useful in the EU since the latest changes. 

For those Americans using American CCs, it's worth noting that the Chase Sapphire Preferred (given by Chase Bank, obviously) has no foreign transaction fees (and gives 3 points per dollar spent on travel and dining - a great thing if you're based in Spain!).


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## surabela (May 13, 2016)

Thanks. That was my experience as well.


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## surabela (May 13, 2016)

It is really disheartening to see the mean-spirited posts. Thankfully, the people whom I've met in Spain are not of that ilk. To those who provided me with information instead of making fun of my question, I thank you very much. Merry Christmas to all!


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

EverHopeful said:


> I have no idea why an earlier poster said they were unable to use their card for online purchases; maybe the suppliers were small artisans, but it would be very unusual not to be able to use your credit card for online purchases.


It was I who had the problem in making an online purchase with my UK-issued credit card, but the problem wasn't anything to do with the supplier (which wasn't a small artisan but Worten, a large electrical company). As I said, it was the card issuer who blocked the transaction as a security measure because as they later explained, the purchase "didn't fit my normal spending pattern". That's why I suggested that if the OP was using a US issued card for a high value transaction it might be a good idea to contact the provider in advance to give them notice of it.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

crshedd said:


> my limited knowledge of european use of credit cards is woeful. however, i did have just a little issue with my card when there 2 years ago. my bank, even to this day, has not issued chip readable cards. they still use the magnetic strip. almost everywhere (in my limited experience) in europe uses the chip. i did run across a couple small establishments (mostly restaurants) that couldn't read the magnetic strip. make sure you have the new chip on your card. the usa is finally switching to the more secure chip.


& that's why the whole introduction of the "secure" chip & pin system was compromised for everyone as the details still had to be on the strip to enable the U.S.to use cards in Europe. 
No idea whether the system is salvageable once the system eventually works how it was intended.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

snikpoh said:


> As @ bob_bob has stated, the larger stores all take plastic. Smaller shops and individuals prefer cash and rarely take plastic. I haven't seen a cheque here in the 10 years we've lived here.
> 
> The other thing though is that Europe as a whole (and possibly the world now) are trying to drive out the use of cash so we use contactless cards, transfers etc.


I have received cheques on many occasions ,including Telefonica.
No chance of cash disappearing whilst the Germans, who are the lowest users of cards in the EU, insist on mainly using cash.That's also why the [email protected] note won't vanish either.


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

jax2bcn said:


> *The US is currently converting their entire system from 'swipe and sign' to 'chip & pin'. American CCs are becoming more and more useful in the EU since the latest changes.
> *
> *For those Americans using American CCs, it's worth noting that the Chase Sapphire Preferred (given by Chase Bank, obviously) has no foreign transaction fees (and gives 3 points per dollar spent on travel and dining - a great thing if you're based in Spain!).[/*QUOTE]
> 
> ...


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> It was I who had the problem in making an online purchase with my UK-issued credit card, but the problem wasn't anything to do with the supplier (which wasn't a small artisan but Worten, a large electrical company). As I said, it was the card issuer who blocked the transaction as a security measure because as they later explained, the purchase "didn't fit my normal spending pattern". That's why I suggested that if the OP was using a US issued card for a high value transaction it might be a good idea to contact the provider in advance to give them notice of it.


OK, I thought it was someone else here though who had a problem with 2 purchases. Maybe not.


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## jax2bcn (Dec 21, 2016)

gus-lopez said:


> That's also why the [email protected] note won't vanish either.


Interestingly, the European Central Bank announced on 4 May 2016 that it would phase out the 500 euro note by the end of 2018.


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

jax2bcn said:


> Interestingly, the European Central Bank announced on 4 May 2016 that it would phase out the 500 euro note by the end of 2018.


I agree - it will be phased out (relatively quickly).


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

gus-lopez said:


> I have received cheques on many occasions ,including Telefonica.
> No chance of cash disappearing whilst the Germans, who are the lowest users of cards in the EU, insist on mainly using cash.That's also why the [email protected] note won't vanish either.


Whats a cheque? 

ALT CTL 4 gives the € symbol.


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## lorort (Dec 24, 2015)

I did have a couple of restaurants in Barcelona not accept American Express.


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## lorort (Dec 24, 2015)

surabela said:


> It is really disheartening to see the mean-spirited posts. Thankfully, the people whom I've met in Spain are not of that ilk. To those who provided me with information instead of making fun of my question, I thank you very much. Merry Christmas to all!


I'm surprised to read some of the tough replies here. Usually people on here are a little more understanding and no question is a bad one. Anyway, ask away and I'll help if I can without harshness


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

lorort said:


> I'm surprised to read some of the tough replies here. Usually people on here are a little more understanding and no question is a bad one. Anyway, ask away and I'll help if I can without harshness


I think it's just that Christmas tends to be 'silly season' - certainly I meant no offence. BUT Spain is, after all, not a third world country and Barcelona really is a major city.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

surabela said:


> It is really disheartening to see the mean-spirited posts. Thankfully, the people whom I've met in Spain are not of that ilk. To those who provided me with information instead of making fun of my question, I thank you very much. Merry Christmas to all!


Not at all. You I'd ask about stores and the like. I think people are just pulling your leg


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## Tigerlillie (Apr 7, 2015)

bob_bob said:


> Whats a cheque?
> 
> ALT CTL 4 gives the € symbol.


Lots of old people still use cheques here in France (well certainly in Brittany) it drives me round the bend at the checkouts in the supermarkets


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

Tigerlillie said:


> Lots of old people still use cheques here in France (well certainly in Brittany) it drives me round the bend at the checkouts in the supermarkets


You will find that more and more stores are starting to refuse to accept cheques - though I'm sure this will continue for some considerable time in France. But just think, TL, you could be in the queue behind elderly people who (a) insert the card the wrong way round and (b) forget their code


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## Tigerlillie (Apr 7, 2015)

EverHopeful said:


> You will find that more and more stores are starting to refuse to accept cheques - though I'm sure this will continue for some considerable time in France. But just think, TL, you could be in the queue behind elderly people who (a) insert the card the wrong way round and (b) forget their code


I have never been behind a person of advancing years and they've forgotten their pin or put their card in the wrong way, it's not the old people that drive me mad EH...it's the cheques....how many times does it pop in and out and round the bloody till before it's done ...and then ID and ID number written on the back yada yada yada....


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## ccm47 (Oct 15, 2013)

It will be a very long time before cheques in France die out imo.
Firstly you are not allowed to pay more than a ?1000 in cash if you are a resident. In Spain I think it's ?2500.

Secondly not all businesses have a sufficient cash float that they can give you change for the notes you have taken along with you and they do not have card facilities either because they cost money too (a right pain!). My OH's opthalmic consultant being one!

Thirdly they provide an easily audited end of financial year trail and thefts within the business are reduced. It's also quicker doing end of day reconciliations.

To be honest I understand the people who refuse to change as there were no cards when many first started to manage their own money and banks charge for them, being overdrawn in France is not a recommended state, and if the system works why change? Where the supermarkets could help is to have under X items queues and contactless card queues too.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

ccm47 said:


> It will be a very long time before cheques in France die out imo.
> Firstly you are not allowed to pay more than a ?1000 in cash if you are a resident. In Spain I think it's ?2500.
> 
> Secondly not all businesses have a sufficient cash float that they can give you change for the notes you have taken along with you and they do not have card facilities either because they cost money too (a right pain!). My OH's opthalmic consultant being one!
> ...


No cash transactions over 1000€ are allowed in Spain, either. I don't think resident status has any bearing on it.

I've never had a cheque book here though - I'd do a bank transfer for anything over 1000€

hmm - I bet a lot of rentals of over 1000€ are paid in cash - but then so many aren't declared anyway


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

I have probably written 3 cheques in Spain in the thirty years I've been here and that was in the first 5 years, Cheques are dead.
A few years ago a lot of small shops didn't accept cards as they have to pay a percentage to the card company and it was too expensive for them, but here at least I would say that 98% of businesses accept card payments now.
It seems that in some countries the cashless society is well on its way



> “I don’t use cash any more, for anything,” said Louise Henriksson, 26, a teaching assistant. “You just don’t need it. Shops don’t want it; lots of banks don’t even have it. Even for a candy bar or a paper, you use a card or phone.”
> Swedish buses have not taken cash for years, it is impossible to buy a ticket on the Stockholm metro with cash, retailers are legally entitled to refuse coins and notes, and street vendors – and even churches – increasingly prefer card or phone payments.
> According to central bank the Riksbank, cash transactions made up barely 2% of the value of all payments made in Sweden last year – a figure some see dropping to 0.5% by 2020. In shops, cash is now used for barely 20% of transactions, half the number five years ago, and way below the global average of 75%.
> And astonishingly, about 900 of Sweden’s 1,600 bank branches no longer keep cash on hand or take cash deposits – and many, especially in rural areas, no longer have ATMs. Circulation of Swedish krona has fallen from around 106bn in 2009 to 80bn last year.


https://www.theguardian.com/busines...hless-society-cards-phone-apps-leading-europe


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

I get paid in cash by almost all my students. I'm trying to persuade them to pay by bank transfer though.

Atm I have to trek up to my bank during open hours to pay money in, so that bills get paid - & that's a pita when I'm working when the bank is open! My bank doesn't have a facility to pay in when they are closed - though they do open at 8:30 am, which to be fair is before I start work. 

I don't mind in the summer - but the last thing I want to do this time of year is go out in the cold & almost dark, earlier than I have to! I don't like carrying large sums of cash around, either!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> I get paid in cash by almost all my students. I'm trying to persuade them to pay by bank transfer though.
> 
> Atm I have to trek up to my bank during open hours to pay money in, so that bills get paid - & that's a pita when I'm working when the bank is open! My bank doesn't have a facility to pay in when they are closed - though they do open at 8:30 am, which to be fair is before I start work.
> 
> I don't mind in the summer - but the last thing I want to do this time of year is go out in the cold & almost dark, earlier than I have to! I don't like carrying large sums of cash around, either!


Why won't they pay by transfer?
When I have classes like that that I just tell them that payment is by direct tranfer to my account when I'm giving the info about the class in the initial stages.
If you tell them that you don't want to walk around with cash, and don't want to spend the time doing bank work aren't they sympathetic?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Why won't they pay by transfer?
> When I have classes like that that I just tell them that payment is by direct tranfer to my account when I'm giving the info about the class in the initial stages.
> If you tell them that you don't want to walk around with cash, and don't want to spend the time doing bank work aren't they sympathetic?


I haven't massively pushed it yet. We aren't talking vast amounts of money either, per individual student - they often carry more than that in their wallet for day to day 'walking around money'.

It has worked well that they pay me cash at the first class of term for so long (apart from the hassle of getting to the bank) that a lot would prefer to continue to do it that way. 

The ideal for me would be some paying by transfer & some by cash! 

I have a few who forget to bring the fees to the first class & I might never see it if they paid by transfer! It isn't that they don't intend to pay - they're just forgetful.....

I have no plans to start accepting cards though.


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