{"id":14490,"date":"2026-07-27T09:49:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T08:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/villas-guide.com\/?p=14490"},"modified":"2026-07-27T15:01:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T14:01:53","slug":"cash-card-or-phone-how-to-pay-in-croatia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villas-guide.com\/en\/blog\/cash-card-or-phone-how-to-pay-in-croatia\/","title":{"rendered":"Cash, Card, or Phone: How to Pay We Croatia in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

You’ve made it to Croatia, unpacked your suitcases, the villa terrace is waiting, but there’s one question still nagging at you: Do I have enough cash on me?<\/em> Do I even need cash on holiday<\/em>?, and Can I just pay by card like at home?<\/em> The answer is mostly \u201cit depends.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here’s what the data from the Croatian National Bank and the European Central Bank says.<\/p>\n

Cards are everywhere, but cash isn’t giving up without a fight<\/h2>\n

If you last visited Croatia a few years ago, you’ll notice a change. HNB data shows that 853 million card transactions were carried out in 2024<\/a>, and the number of cards in circulation climbed to 8.7 million. That’s twice as many cards as there are residents (and then some, but let’s not split hairs). In Croatia, roughly every fourth bill is now paid by card, and that share keeps growing year after year.<\/p>\n

Cash isn’t giving up, though<\/strong>. According to the ECB’s study on payment attitudes (SPACE 2024), across the whole euro area cash is still used in 52% of all point-of-sale transactions by number<\/a>. That’s down from 59% two years earlier, but still the single most common method.<\/p>\n