First of all, you will find that you practically don’t need cash in Budapest because you can pay for everything with your cell phone or card. Depending on how your bank handles purchases in foreign currency (i.e. how good the exchange rate is), you may not even need to have forints when paying for your metro ticket, groceries or a bagel in a cafe.
But if you would still like to have cash, then stick to the following rules:
- Never buy forints in Germany – it is also obvious that forint bills in Germany must cost more than if you buy them here.
- The worst place to exchange money is Budapest airport – but even in the city, all exchange offices that advertise “no commission” offer such a bad rate that you sometimes lose 10 – 20% of your money.
- Hungarian banks also offer a very poor exchange rate – significantly worse than that of good exchange offices.
- Do not use the “Euro – HUF” ATMs, which are mainly installed in tourist areas. They also have a very large margin when they pay you forints.
- Most bureaux de change display the exchange rate from a distance so that you can compare them from the street. The fees are not particularly high. From our own experience, we can recommend the “Arany Exchange” exchange office located near Blaha Luijza Square.
A little tip for cashless payment in restaurants or stores: You can easily pay for everything with a normal Visa or Mastercard and then always select “HUF” at the terminal. Your local bank will then exchange it at a perfectly acceptable rate. If, on the other hand, you choose “Euro”, the payment provider will exchange it for you and of course make a substantial deduction.
