Payment methods in Austria

42358POSTS

6 years ago

Hello everyone,

Once you聮re settled in Austria, you will need to make some basic purchases, like groceries or pay bills. Hence, it is essential to know the payment methods available in your host country.

Which are the most common payment methods in Austria? Why would you prefer some forms over others?

Does the amount of money or the type of paid services (groceries, bills, rent, etc.) determine the choice of payment methods?

Are there any apps at your disposal which make the payment process easier in Austria?

Can certain foreign currencies be used to make payments?

Have your habits in terms of payment methods changed since moving to Austria?

Thanks for sharing your experience,

Priscilla

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Rod604 Active member

80POSTS

6 years ago

Austrians use a lot of cash, cards are not so popular. They do have Bankomat or Maestro cards which are shortly changing to Visa/Mastercard debit cards.
Austrian banks are not keen on issuing credit cards. If they do to make online payments easier, expect a card which will direct debit at the end of each month.
Household bills are all payable by giro transfer or direct debit. Online banking also available.

1 member reacted to this post

jtibbles Member

12POSTS

6 years ago

When I first moved here (5 years ago) I found Austria to be wildly behind the times when it came to debit and credit cards. My first "credit card" from the bank was more like a membership card. I couldn't use it online. Even now I struggle to get my Maestro working online.

Fortunately there is a free credit card (Free.at) which works all over the EU and America. I use this mostly for online payments.

I still find it crazy that you have to pay for a bank account, AND pay to put money IN to that account, AND have to pay for extras like a credit card or a secondary debit card.

I still have my UK account for any UK purchases (and as a backup) and I also have a free borderless Transferwise prepay credit card which can be used worldwide (if you are transfering money between countries it is much cheaper through this system).

Austria are slowly catching up (kicking and screaming in to the 21st Century) but I would like to see a vast improvement in the number of banks that work with NFC ystems. At the moment only Apple pay is generally supported, so my Fitbit watch or Google Pay phone can't be used anywhere in the country.