Getting cash at Prague's airport and the city center (skip those scam ATMs)

Prague is a very safe city in comparison with most European cities. But as in many tourist places, there are dubious companies trying to trick tourists. One of the biggest tourist traps in Prague (aside from taxi drivers) are money exchanges. So, use your credit card when you can - and if you want to get some cash, follow the steps below. 

In the most travel guides is written about problems with changing money and taxis. Although in Prague is generally possible to pay on almost all places with a card, it may be advisable to have 20-50 dollars or euro of cash for a weekend, just to be safe. Here are few tips on how to get cash on the airport and in the city centre.

How to get Czech Crowns?

The Czech Republic is member of the Europen Union and thus is obliged to adopt the Euro currency in the future. But it has not even planned to do so, although most criteria are met (because of the Euro crisis and Czech Euroscepticism). Therefore you will need Czech crowns for your stay in Prague. Veeery roughly 1 EUR, USD or CHF is about 25 CZK (For current rates check your bank's website or the Czech National Bank). So if the beer costs 35 CZK it is around 1.5 EUR/USD/CHF.

Source: Wikipedia Czech Koruna

At the Prague airport - ATMs, exchange rates

Changing money at the airport or most of changing tubes in the city is quite bad (changing tubes are partly operated by Mafia and used for money laundering, I have heard). When you arrive at  airport you will see near beggage claim the international company Travelex, which is really bad (as anywhere in the world). Do not waste your money there. Due to their bad reputation they renamed themselves to Inter change (orange, see a pic below) - which offers still bad rates. 

Do not use Interchange anywhere in the world, their exchange rates and ATMs are horrible. (Formerly branded in blue-red as Travelex). 

 

 

 

Instead pick up your baggage and wait after you go through the customs. At the arrival hall on the right side are ATMs of Czech branches of international banks, they have different names but have the same design – like French Societe General (in Czech Komerční banka), Italian UniCredit, Belgian KBC (ČSOB), Austrian Erste (Česká spořitelna), or the former US GE Money - now Moneta.

Much better conditions are provided by branches of international banks, in the arrival hall

Unfortunately you also have to be careful on the official ATMs since some bank misuse their position and use practices which would not be tolerated in Western Europe. Austrian Raiffeisen (also Austrian Erste = Česká spořitelna, as well French Société Générale = Komerční banka) and some other banks suggest you "a fixed exchange rate" which is usually much worse that the one which you would get from your home bank. They try to fool you to make you think that you will not get any Crowns - you will. Picture and article about this shameful practice can be found here.

Shameful practice of some banks - with conversion has a bad exchange rate - choose without!

At the city centre

To change money later in the centre it is best to change money by Alfa Prague. Easiest tube to find is at the building of the shopping centre Palladium on the yellow (B-line) metro station Náměstí Republiky (Republic Square). Here is their webpage (unfortunately just in Czech but people working there speak foreign languages). Take a look on the following video of the popular and funny Honest Guide to get tips on solid exchange places.