The one cool thing with WeSwap is you can select different rates depending if you want to buy the money now or in a few days or a week, so advance planning comes in. As indeed it does with Monzo. With the limit on foreign ATM withdrawal it makes sense to collect cash in advance of your trip and take that with you (though if you are planning a big family event like a wedding stick to card payments as the €10,000 exchange control rules kick in).
yes sounds good - I try to change so little into cash on holiday it probably isn’t worth the bother to get the card in all honesty - quite happy with Monzo 
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which €10,000 exchange rule ?
entering certain Eurozone countries they now have restrictions on carrying cash over that amount (Posters up in Italian and Estonian airports/harbours seem to confirm this)
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I was under the impression the four freedoms were non negotiable and obligatory for all members
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Similar to my first passport annotated by the Labour government of the day saying I was permitted to take £28 out of the country.
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If you plan to enter or leave the EU with €10,000 or more in cash you must declare it to customs. It is part of the EU strategy to combat money laundering and to counter the financing of terrorism…currently it seems to be enforced at the borders of the Schengen Agreement countries rather than the EU borders, but not sure if that due to which member states agreed this or if it down to the practicalities of a unified customs and imigration system versus little countries like britain doing their own thing in an uncoordinated manner.
I agree, into the EU or out of the EU , but free unrestricted movement of cash from one member state to the other is one of the four freedoms isn’t it
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you don’t have to declare it , I agree if you want to put it into a bank you have to justify it , but you can take any amount between EU states unrestricted , undeclared
sorry derailed this thread topic
For now. But post Brexit, who knows?
Sorry, I said the B word
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In UK airports yes, but elsewhere you may have to! This is what the UK Government site says “If you bring cash to the UK from another EU country, you don’t need to declare it. You may need to declare cash you take in to other EU countries…”
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Don’t think its airport specific rules -
not checked every EU country , but we all have the same rules in the EU
Lithuania - no restrictions (at the bottom of thread )
https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/LT-Lithuania-customs-currency-airport-tax-regulations-details.htm
don’t think it has anything to do with Schengen - might be wrong but thats free movement of individuals isn’t it ?
In theory the rules are the same, however different customs authorities interpret them differently.
For example some just look at if you have travelled from or travelling to an EU member state. Some will look at your flight itinery or airline tickets and if your ultimate destination is outside the EU or you plan to transit a non EU country they enforce the rules as if you came from or are going to a non EU country even though your travel is actually EU travel to or from their airport.
If your cash is not low denomination, but high denomination such as €500 notes some officials get more officious and ask where you got the money from and do you have supplementary ID, due to the high incidence of high denomination notes in criminal activity and money laundering.
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maybe they do, you could be right - Im only reading the publicly available rules / laws for moving cash within the EU , in to and out of the EU
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…and even then if you carry it on your person, can the (>€10k?) limit only be enforced if you declare or are screened?
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Money sniffer dogs. Don’t know how common they are on the mainland though
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better not carry any money on us take a travel card
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The >€10,000 limit can be enforced if declared, if screened, and also for vague reasons such as “suspicion of proceeds of crime”…but also if not carried on the person but in luggage it can be enforced.
Finland (and maybe other countries) have in their customs guide a requirement not just for individuals but for families travelling together. They also say families are subject to the €10K limit…though how they reconcile that with the individual limit of the same value heaven only knows!
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Tulli is the Finnish customs ???
http://tulli.fi/en/private-persons/travelling/cash
seems to be quite a conflicting message from 1st 2nd and 3rd paragraphs
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