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Europe currency guide: understanding the euro (EUR)

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BOSS Money Content Team
Written by BOSS Money Content Team
• 9 min read

There isn’t just one currency in Europe. The euro is the official currency in 21 EU countries1 in the euro area. Step outside that group and the currency changes: pounds in the UK2, złoty in Poland3, or another currency the local country uses.

Europe, the EU, and the euro area get treated as interchangeable, and they're not. Europe is a continent of roughly 44 countries4. The EU is a political and economic union of 27 of them5. The euro area sits inside the EU, smaller still, made up of the countries that actually share the euro as their currency.

What is the euro currency?

The euro is the official currency of the euro area, which consists of EU countries that use the same currency rather than their own. It’s written as € and abbreviated as EUR. One euro is divided into 100 cents6, so prices work much like dollars and cents in the US.

No single country in the euro area decides how many euros to print or where interest rates land. That's the European Central Bank's job7, working alongside the national central banks of member countries as the Eurosystem, with one goal: keep prices stable across the whole group rather than manage any one economy on its own.

Not every EU member state is part of the euro area. Joining the EU and joining the euro area are two different steps, and a country must meet specific economic conditions8 before it's cleared to adopt the euro. Denmark, for instance, negotiated a formal opt-out and isn't required to adopt the euro at all. 9

What countries use the euro?

So where are euros used? Here's the full list10, alphabetically:

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • The Netherlands
  • Portugal
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain

Bulgaria joined most recently, swapping the lev for the euro on January 1, 202611. That made it the 21st EU country to use the official EU currency. How many countries use the euro depends on what you're counting. Twenty-one isn’t the whole story. Several places outside the EU use euros as well, some officially and some simply by choice.

Which European countries don't use the euro?

Six EU countries currently don't use the euro: 

  • Czechia
  • Denmark
  • Hungary
  • Poland
  • Romania
  • Sweden

Five of these six (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden) haven't adopted the euro yet. Some haven't met conditions like keeping inflation low and government debt within set limits12, and others simply haven't set a firm timeline to join. Denmark is the exception. It negotiated a formal opt-out from the euro when the currency was created, and that opt-out still stands today. The Danish krone remains the country's official currency by choice.

Being in the EU doesn't automatically mean a country uses the euro. Membership and euro adoption are two separate things, which is why the currency isn’t used across the entire bloc. That list isn't permanent, either. Countries can adopt the euro once they meet the requirements.13

Euro outside the European Union

The euro's reach extends past the EU's own borders. Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City use the euro as their official currency because of formal monetary agreements with the EU14. Each agreement lets the country mint a limited number of its own euro coins, stamped with a design unique to that country. None of them can print euro banknotes, though.1

Kosovo and Montenegro are a different case. Neither has a monetary agreement with the EU, and neither issues a domestic currency of its own. They've simply used the euro as everyday money since 2002, when it replaced the German mark they relied on before that.1 The European Commission draws a clear line15 between the two situations: euro use backed by a formal agreement and euro use without one.

Euro banknotes and coins

Euro coins come in eight denominations, and each one has two sides. One side has a common design used across the entire euro area6, a map of Europe. The other side is unique to whichever country minted it. Ireland uses a harp on its coins. Greece uses an owl copied from an ancient Athenian coin. Every other euro-area country picks its own national design, too.16

The design doesn't affect spending power. A one-euro coin from Portugal has the same value as a one-euro coin from Finland. When it comes to banknotes, euro-area countries use the same design for each denomination.17

Type

Denominations

Coins6

1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents, €1, €2

Banknotes

€5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200, €500
One fun thing to know if you're traveling: souvenir shops sometimes sell “€0” novelty notes tied to a local landmark. They look convincingly like real euro money but carry zero value and aren't legal tender anywhere. They’re simply collectibles to bring home.18

How does the euro work when traveling in Europe?

Paying with cash

Euro cash is legal tender across the euro area19, meaning businesses are required to accept it as a matter of principle. That's not an absolute rule, though. A shop can turn down cash in good faith, for example, if the register is out of small change, or if you and the seller agreed beforehand on a different payment method. Outside those narrow cases, coins and banknotes from any euro-area country can be used throughout the euro area. 

Worth repeating here: that only applies within the euro area itself. Cross into Czechia, Hungary, or another non-euro EU country, and your euros stop being legal tender the moment you land.

Paying by card

Card payments are widely accepted across the euro area, especially in cities and at larger businesses, though small shops, markets, and rural spots can still be cash-only. Two costs are worth watching for. The first is a foreign transaction fee20, which your card issuer may charge on any purchase you make abroad or in a foreign currency, usually a percentage of each transaction rather than a flat amount. The second is dynamic currency conversion, where a merchant or ATM offers to bill you in U.S. dollars instead of euros “for your convenience.” That convenience typically comes with a worse exchange rate than the one your card issuer would apply, so declining it and paying in euros is usually the better move. Before you fly out, check with your card issuer directly. Confirm whether foreign transaction fees apply to your specific card, as this varies a lot from one issuer to the next.

Neither method is always better. Cash avoids card-related fees completely but leaves you carrying physical money with no fraud protection if it's lost or stolen. Cards are easier to carry and safer in that sense, but fees can add up depending on your card and how often you use it. Which one actually costs less depends on your specific card and your spending habits.

How to exchange U.S. dollars to euros

If you're converting money for a trip to Europe, EUR is what you're buying, and USD is the currency you're exchanging. The number quoted as “the exchange rate” is rarely the number you actually walk away with, though. A few extra costs typically stack on top of that headline rate:

  • A flat service fee charged by whoever's handling the exchange
  • An exchange-rate markup, the gap between the rate you're quoted and the real market rate
  • ATM fees if you're withdrawing euros abroad
  • A foreign transaction fee your card issuer may charge separately, worth checking before you lean on a credit card for the whole trip

Add those up, and the amount you actually receive can look pretty different from what the headline rate promised. Checking your bank or card issuer’s rates and fees before you go, and comparing them against at least one alternative, is the only real way to know what you'll actually end up with in euros.

Timing plays into this, too. Exchanging some money before the trip rather than waiting until you land usually beats an airport kiosk rate, and where you go to get euros (e.g., a bank, an ATM, a transfer app) affects the fees you pay and how much.

Sending money to Europe

If you're sending USD from the U.S. to someone in the euro area, BOSS Money supports transfers to several euro-area destinations directly from the app, including France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain.

The basic process is similar no matter the destination:

  1. Download the app and create a free account with your phone number.
  2. Add a recipient, an amount, and a valid form of ID (a driver's license or passport works) to verify the transaction.
  3. Review the exchange rate and fees before confirming. The number you see is the number that gets charged.
  4. Choose a delivery method. For most European destinations, you can deposit the funds straight to the recipient’s bank account.
  5. Track the transfer in the app and get notified once the funds are available.

Fees depend on the amount you're sending and the payment method you use. Using a debit card typically costs less than a credit card since credit card issuers sometimes charge an additional fee on top of the transaction. Transfer amounts typically range from a $10 minimum up to $5,000 per transaction, though the exact limit depends on the destination country and payment method. 

BOSS Money is a licensed money transmitter, and transfers are protected by security measures such as data encryption, identity verification, and fraud monitoring. BOSS Money may also issue a refund for eligible transactions if the transfer isn’t delivered under the applicable terms and conditions. New accounts typically qualify for reduced or waived fees on the first few transfers, worth checking directly in the app since exact terms and promotions change over time.

Compared to a standard bank wire, the practical difference for most people sending money to Europe comes down to speed and visibility: you know the exchange rate and total cost before you send, not after the transfer has already gone through.

Why does Europe use the euro?

Beyond the politics, the euro solves a handful of practical problems for the people actually living in and traveling through the euro area.

  • Travel gets simpler. Moving from France to Germany to Italy doesn't mean stopping at a currency exchange counter every time you cross a border.
  • Prices become easier to compare. A €40 hotel room in Portugal and a €40 hotel room in Ireland cost the same. There’s no mental math or conversion app required.
  • Cross-border business runs smoother. Companies selling into multiple euro-area countries can price and invoice in one currency instead of juggling twenty different ones.
  • Currency conversion friction drops. No exchange fees or rate markups eating into a transaction just because it crossed a border inside the euro area.

The European Commission's own June 2026 economic assessment21 ties the euro directly to more stable prices, lower transaction costs for people and businesses, and more transparent, competitive markets across the bloc. That same assessment states that around 355 million people use the euro daily22 across the 21 euro-area countries.

FAQ

What is the euro currency?

The euro (€), or EUR, is the currency shared by 21 EU countries, aka the euro area.

What countries use the euro?

It’s used by 21 EU countries:

  1. Austria
  2. Belgium
  3. Bulgaria
  4. Croatia
  5. Cyprus
  6. Estonia
  7. Finland
  8. France
  9. Germany
  10. Greece
  11. Ireland
  12. Italy
  13. Latvia
  14. Lithuania
  15. Luxembourg
  16. Malta
  17. Netherlands
  18. Portugal
  19. Slovakia
  20. Slovenia
  21. Spain

Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City also use the euro through agreements with the EU. Kosovo and Montenegro use it without one.

How many countries use the euro?

Twenty-seven: 21 within the EU and six countries outside.

What currency does France use?

Euros. France was one of the original 11 countries that launched the currency in 1999.

Does Germany use the euro?

It does. Germany has been part of the euro area from the beginning.

Does Italy use the euro?

Yes. It was one of the countries that adopted the euro from the start.

Does Spain use the euro?

Yes, since 1999.

Does Greece use the euro?

Yes, although Greece wasn’t part of the original 11.

What currency does Europe use?

Europe doesn’t have a single currency. The euro is widely used, but plenty of European countries still have currencies of their own.

What currency is €?

The € symbol represents the euro.

Sources: all third party information obtained from applicable website as of September 1, 2026

  1. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/the-euro-facts-and-figures/
  2. https://www.oanda.com/currency-converter/en/currencies/majors/gbp/
  3. https://wise.com/gb/currency-converter/currencies/pln-polish-zloty
  4. https://www.worldatlas.com/geography/how-many-countries-are-in-europe.html
  5. https://www.gov.uk/eu-eea
  6. https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/euro/euro-coins-and-notes/euro-coins/types-euro-coins_en
  7. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb/orga/escb/eurosystem-mission/html/index.en.html
  8. https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/euro/enlargement-euro-area/convergence-criteria-joining_en
  9. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-the-eurozone-in-2026/
  10. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/the-euro-facts-and-figures/#Countries
  11. https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/euro/eu-countries-and-euro/bulgaria-and-euro_en
  12. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/other-publications/convergence/html/ecb.cr202606~30e75ae1c2.en.html#toc102
  13. https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/publications/all/denmark-votes-no-euro
  14. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb-and-you/explainers/show-me/html/euro_outside_europe.en.html
  15. https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/euro/use-euro/euro-outside-euro-area_en
  16. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/coins/1euro/html/index.en.html
  17. https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/euro/euro-coins-and-notes/euro-banknotes_en
  18. https://www.euronotesouvenir.com/page/ultimate-guide-0-euro-notes
  19. https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/euro/use-euro/euro-legal-tender_en
  20. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-types-of-fees-do-prepaid-cards-typically-charge-en-2053/
  21. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A52026DC0585
  22. https://www.britannica.com/today-in-history/January-1-Adoption-of-the-Euro

This article is provided for general information purposes only and is not intended to address every aspect of the matters discussed herein. The information in this article is not intended as specific personal advice. The information in this article does not constitute legal, tax, regulatory or other professional advice from IDT Payment Services, Inc. and its affiliates (collectively, “IDT”), and should not be taken or used as such by any individual. IDT makes no representation, warranty or guaranty, whether express or implied, that the content in this article is current, accurate, or complete. You should obtain professional or other substantive advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the information in this article.

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