Currency & Spending Money (Portugal)

Currency
Portugal is one of 19 European Union countries whose common official currency is the euro. 
1 euro is divided into 100 cents. The coins come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, and 1 and 2 euros. 
The notes are differentiated by their size and colour and come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euros. 


One side of the coins has a common design (the European side), and the other side has a national symbol. All euro coins can be used in any euro-zone country, irrespective of which national symbols they display.

              1 unit of Currency                       Euro
                      AUD$                       0.617
                      NZD$                       0.560
                      USD$                        0.950

Correct as at December 2024

 

ATMs - Automatic Teller Machines (Multibanco)
Portugal has a national network of cash machines (ATMs) identified by the symbol MB (Multibanco), from which you can withdraw cash 24 hours a day.

Currency Exchange
You can exchange money at banks, which are open from 8.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. five working days a week; at bureaux de change; and at automatic currency exchange machines (these are for currency sale transactions only).

Credit cards
In Portugal, the most commonly used credit cards are: Visa, American Express, Diners Club, Europay / MasterCard, JCB and Maestro. 

Tipping
Service is included in the bill in restaurants, though it is customary to leave an additional tip of about 5-10% of the total.
It is also normal to tip taxi drivers 5-10 % or rounding up the amount paid to the nearest euro.