DragonSoul

I've seen an older post about this but wondering what the current state of play is.

Our Visa/MC cards do not have PINs, just chips. They are Visa payWave and Mastercard contactless though. We will be taking tours outside of Reykjavik, so might need to pay for things in smaller towns, as well as making purchases at supermarkets, restaurants, cafes in the capital.

Questions:

Are payWave/contactless CCs widely accepted in Iceland?

Should we get ApplePay (if widely accepted) and rely on that?

Is the Arion Bank Currency Card worth considering? (Understand it's not rechargeable.)

Should we also get some ISK at the airport ATM , and if so is it easy to exchange back on departure?

Thanks!

:D!

Yes, and you can always use chip&sign or swipe if paying a large amount

Only if you enjoy waving a bulky device at a card terminal instead of a small card

Absolutely not, unless you have a particular desire to make use of some of the discounts and you have researched that these discounts represent a true saving over what you would otherwise spend; and/or all three of the following apply: 1) your bank charges you a fixed fee for each foreign transaction, 2) you know exactly how much you will be spending in Iceland, 3) you are not intelligent enough to learn how to use bills and coins of a new currency

The card has fixed costs of about US$25 plus whatever poor exchange rate you may get if you buy it with foreign cash; if you don't load it with enough money then you are back to square one and if you load it with too much you are in the same position as if you withdrew too much cash from an ATM, but you've paid the fees for no reason.

If you want to. There are ATMs elsewhere too, but I didn't see anywhere in Iceland that did not accept both card and cash, except for buying bus tickets on the bus (but there you need exact change or overpay)

If you have too much cash you can always pay with a combination of cash and card, which I somewhat unexpectedly saw happen on at least 5 occasions, including in odd places like a cafe in a small village - so if you don't want to keep any cash after leaving the country, you can spend the last of it and pay the rest by card

Out of my Element

The only time I've needed ISK in Iceland was to buy tomatoes from a tray in front of someone's house where there was an Honor Box. Some bathrooms ask require cash payment, but they accepted USD equivalency (or a bit more).

You only need a Chip and PIN if you are going to an unmanned gas station, which would be late at night on the Ring Road and 24/7 in remote areas (think West Fjords). You can also buy a Gas Card at a manned station and use that at an unmanned station.

DragonSoul

Thanks for the responses.

If we don't get some ISK from the ATM, what currency is best to carry? Euro, USD, other? Neither is comfortable not having zero cash, and as no one will want to take our currency we'll have to exchange a few notes at home country.

We assume we can buy metro tickets at CPH using a CC. This should be our only expense there.

:D!

I think you have an extra word there, but it still doesn't make sense. If you feel that you need to have cash in Iceland, then why would you not get ISK? The only things euros and USD can be used for are tips and for spontaneous exchange with other visitors who happen to have ISK when you really need some. Any shop that takes euros is also going to take card - though I guess it could be useful in the extremely rare chance that the internet fails for several hours, or all your bank accounts are frozen.

Yes, you can buy tickets at CPH airport with cards (only coins are accepted at metro machines, and only some DSB machines at CPH airport and København H take banknotes).

DragonSoul

"Neither of us is..." Brevity wasn't my friend!

It would be much easier having CCs with chip/pin. Sigh...

Out of my Element

ISK is the currency of the land, so if you must have cash that's what you should have.

You don't need a chip/PIN unless you are going to unmanned gas stations. Chip/Sign is acceptable everywhere else.