What currency does Czechia use? The koruna, cards and the euro

Czechia is in the European Union, so visitors often assume it uses the euro. It does not. Shops price in korunas, and the exchange kiosk that offers euros at a generous-sounding rate is one of the more reliable ways of losing part of your budget.

What currency does Czechia use?

The Czech koruna, written CZK in international banking and Kč on prices. The word koruna means crown, and one koruna is divided into 100 haléřů, though haléř coins were withdrawn in 2008. Cash totals are rounded to the whole koruna, while card payments can still be charged to the exact haléř.

The currency is issued and managed by the Czech National Bank (ČNB), which also sets the main interest rate and publishes the official daily exchange rates. For the currency's history and how it is governed, see our explainer on why Czechia kept the koruna, and for the exchange-rate regime, the piece on how the koruna's exchange rate works.

Coins and banknotes

There are six coins and six notes in everyday circulation. The coins run from 1 to 50 CZK, and the notes from 100 to 5,000 CZK. The largest notes are unwelcome in small shops, where a 2,000 or 5,000 CZK note for a coffee may be refused or met with a sigh. Break them at a bank or supermarket first.

Some older series have been withdrawn from circulation. If you are handed a note you do not recognise, the ČNB website shows the current designs and tells you which older series can still be exchanged.

Cash or card?

In Prague and the larger cities, contactless payment by card or phone is the norm in supermarkets, restaurants, taxis, transport ticket machines and many market stalls. Cash still has its uses:

• small payments at rural pubs, kiosks and farm shops;
• tips, which Czechs commonly give by rounding up the bill in cash;
• public toilets and some left-luggage lockers;
• places with a minimum card spend or a surcharge on cards.

A hypothetical example: on a restaurant bill of CZK 1,250 you tell the waiter you want to pay CZK 1,375, roughly 10% extra. The percentage is a habit, not a rule, and the same applies to taxi fares.

Getting cash

Cash machines (ATMs, bankomaty) are found at banks, in shopping centres and on most main streets, and they dispense korunas. Withdrawals from your home bank card usually use the card network's exchange rate, and your own bank may add a foreign fee. Independent ATMs, particularly in tourist areas, may add their own charges, so a branch of a normal bank is generally safer.

For exchange, avoid street booths and kiosks in the tourist centre with a large "0% commission" sign. Their margin is hidden in the gap between the buying and selling rates. A reputable exchange point shows both rates and any fee clearly. Compare the rate shown with the ČNB's official daily rate, which is published on working days, and treat a large gap as a warning.

Can you pay in euros?

Some shops and restaurants in central Prague accept euros, and some tourist attractions list prices in euros, but the euro is not legal tender. A merchant who takes it sets their own exchange rate, which is usually poor, and gives change in korunas. In ordinary shops, and especially outside Prague, euros are usually not accepted at all. If you arrive from the eurozone with a pocket of euro cash, change it at a fair rate, or use your card instead.

Czechia undertook to adopt the euro when it joined the EU in 2004, but no government has set a date. The debate is explained in our pieces on the eurozone and Czechia, the criteria for adoption and whether Czechia will adopt the euro. For a traveller, prices stay in korunas for the foreseeable future.

A short history of the money in your pocket

The present koruna dates from February 1993. Czechoslovakia split on 1 January, the two new states shared the old currency for a few weeks, and then each introduced its own; the Czech one kept the name koruna. Today's notes and coins were issued after the split and the Czech National Bank has updated the series since. The monetary side of the split is described in our piece on Czech-Slovak relations after 1993, and the wider story is in the guide to the koruna.

Paying for things in daily life

Czech banks support instant transfers and a standard payment QR code, found on invoices and bills. Scan it in your banking app and you pay without typing an account number. Card readers take contactless cards and phone wallets, and most supermarkets have self-checkouts with card terminals.

Two small rules help when reading a price. Prices shown to consumers are meant to include value added tax, so the figure on the shelf is the figure at the till, and there is no "plus tax" at the register as in the United States. In restaurants, check the bill for a service charge before you add a tip. If a charge was not on the menu, you can query it, and the Czech Trade Inspection Authority takes complaints about unfair pricing.

What to carry on arrival

One working debit or credit card is enough, plus a little koruna cash for a ticket machine that refuses your card, or a tip. If you plan to stay for months, a local account in korunas removes foreign fees and lets you pay rent and utilities in the same currency.

Living on korunas

For people who work or rent in Czechia, almost all income, rent and local costs are in korunas. A salary paid in another currency, or a flat priced in euros, adds exchange risk that a koruna salary does not. That risk is discussed from the borrower's side in our piece on mortgages in crowns or euros. Everyday banking is easiest with a Czech account in korunas.

Frequently asked questions

Does Czechia use the euro?

No. Czechia is an EU member but has kept the koruna. It has not set a date for adopting the euro.

What is the symbol for the Czech koruna?

The international code is CZK, and prices are usually written with the abbreviation Kč after the figure, for example 100 Kč.

Are cards accepted everywhere?

In towns and cities, almost everywhere. Carry a little cash for rural areas, small stalls and tips.

Where can I check the official exchange rate?

The Czech National Bank publishes official exchange rates for working days on its website.

Can I take large amounts of cash into Czechia?

Travellers entering or leaving the EU with EUR 10,000 or more in cash must declare it to customs (as of 2026; check the Czech Customs Administration).

A few hundred korunas in small notes, the rest on the card: that is the arrival kit.

This is a general explainer, not legal, tax or mortgage advice.