Estonia uses the euro. Visa and Mastercard contactless payments are widespread, but cash has not disappeared, so carry a second physical card and a small euro backup. Ordinary foreign visitors pay for Tallinn public transport. The simplest method is usually to tap the same contactless bank card at the validator by the front door each time you board; Pilet.ee is optional for QR tickets, longer products and Ühiskaart management. Bolt has the broadest ride coverage, while Uber is officially limited to Tallinn and Forus is a useful licensed-taxi alternative. For travel beyond the capital, use Elron for trains, Tpilet for many coaches and Praamid.ee for the main Saaremaa and Hiiumaa vehicle ferries. Wolt is the first food-delivery app to try, with Bolt Food as a comparison. No Estonian payment app is needed for a normal visit. Call 112 for an emergency and 1247 for official non-emergency state information. EE-ALARM can reach foreign phones by location-based SMS, while the optional Ole valmis! app provides English crisis guidance. Check official conditions before any Russia-border journey because crossing arrangements can change at short notice.
Estonia uses the euro and card payment is the normal choice for most visitor spending.
Contactless Visa and Mastercard work widely in hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, ticket machines and urban transport. That does not make Estonia literally cashless. Eesti Pank's 2024 survey found that cash still accounted for a substantial minority of point-of-sale payments, and its 2025 survey found that some people had encountered merchants refusing cash while other small businesses still lacked card acceptance. Bring a physical backup card from another issuer and keep a modest amount of euro cash for markets, small rural businesses, tips or a terminal outage.
American Express is less universal than Visa or Mastercard. No Estonian payment app is useful enough for an ordinary short-term visitor to open. Revolut, Wise or another travel card can be useful only if the traveler already has an eligible account and favorable terms; they are not local requirements and not Estonian apps. At an ATM, prefer a recognizable bank machine, read both the operator fee and your bank's fee, and decline conversion into your home currency so your own issuer performs the exchange.
Since January 2025, cash totals are rounded to the nearest five cents, while card totals are not. This is a pricing rule for cash settlement, not an added fee. Keep the backup card separate from the primary wallet and do not rely on a phone wallet as the only way to pay.
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How to Pay in Estonia