Get your Passports ready! Consider this an official guide to our wedding day. A place to find accommodation recommendations, travel instructions, the itinerary and more. We can't wait to celebrate with you!

Amanda & Marcus

October 18, 2025 • Athlone, Ireland

165 Days To Go!

Amanda & Marcus

October 18, 2025 • Athlone, Ireland

165 Days To Go!

Currency

Euro (Republic of Ireland) & Pound Sterling (Northern Ireland)

Current Exchange Rates

Revolut

Because banking is a pain in the arse.

Free Standard Plan! Typically takes 9 business days to deliver your physical card. You can still start spending and moving money straight away. Your revolut account automatically allows you to get a virtual card.

When travelling, regular banks can be expensive and cumbersome. Awful exchange rates, ridiculous fees, and if you forget to let your bank know your card might even get blocked.

Marcus and I have been using Revolut for a few years now, both at home and while traveling.

Revolut calls themselves an electronic money institution. It's your financial partner. They launched in 2015 and have over 40 million users.

With Revolut, you will get a contactless debit card and a really user-friendly app. But best of all, you'll get massive savings on fees when spending, withdrawing, and sending money abroad.

You can easily top up your Revolut account from your regular bank account either through online banking or by making a "payment" with your debit card. Once you have money on your account, you can go ahead and spend or withdraw money with your Revolut card around the world for FREE!

Revolut allows you to set up "accounts" (kind of like wallets) with up to 29 different currencies. Or, if you'd rather not have to worry about keeping track of different wallets, you can simply spend and withdraw money and have it come straight out of your "main" account, whether that be in euro or dollars.

All you'll be charged is the real-time foreign exchange rate and a small fee on weekends.

You can see your spending by category, merchant, and country.

If your friends have Revolut too, you can easily and quickly (instantly, really) transfer money between you. The "Split the Bill" function is awesome, and allows one of you to pay the full bill and then split between your group evenly. Perfect for a night out!

You can even set a budget for various categories to help you control where you're spending money.

Other Options

Currency: You can exchange money before traveling at banks or currency exchange locations. You can use your debit card at Irish Banks to withdraw euro.

Credit & Debit: Most US debit and credit cards are widely accepted in Ireland, including Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Discover is not often accepted.

** You should notify your bank before traveling so they don't block transactions in foreign countries.

** Be aware of fees for cash advances and foreign transactions, such as currency conversion fees, point of sale purchase fees, and cash withdrawal commission charges.

Should I buy lots of euro before leaving?

You could take a large amount of Euros with you by going to your local bank or AAA and purchasing them before you trip, but this is problematic for a couple of reasons. First, it is a security risk. Ireland is as safe a country as any, but it's never a good idea to carry a large amount of cash with you while traveling. Second, your home bank (or wherever you get your euros) will charge you a higher exchange rate to cover their costs (usually about 6-10%) than what the actual exchange rate is.

Why is using an ATM the best way to get money in Ireland?

Irish banks do not charge ATM fees (whoop, whoop!). The only fee you might pay would be from your home bank for a foreign/international withdrawal. A foreign transaction fee from your home bank is often a one-time fee each time you withdraw money abroad. It typically runs about $5.00 per withdrawal. Sometimes US banks charge a percentage of how much you withdraw (so call your bank to ask their policy). There are a few ATMs that charge fees for extracting money in Ireland, but those are not connected to banks (think convenience stores or at the Dublin Airport). To avoid fees, seek out ATMs on the facades of brick and mortar banks.

Should I bring cash to exchange?

Another way you could get euros would be taking a lot of US cash with you and exchanging it for euros in Ireland, but this puts you in the exact same boat or worse. The airport currency exchange offices usually charge even higher exchange rates than home banks and you can no longer exchange US dollars inside Irish banks unless you are customer of that bank. If you really want to bring euros with you, don’t go overboard. One hundred euros is enough to get you a cab and a meal if need be before you need to seek out an ATM.

What do we usually do?

We use REVOLUT! Without Revolut: First, call the bank and tell them you will be in Ireland so they have a heads up that you’ll be using your card somewhere new. This will help keep your card from being frozen while travelling. While you‘ve got them on the phone, reconfirm the foreign withdrawal fee for ATMs in Ireland. Ask if there are any limits on how much you can take out at one time. This is especially useful to know if you’re staying at any cash only B&Bs that you might need to stock up for. We typically will have fifty to a hundred euro with us before leaving. This is our money for tolls and breakfast. Then, withdraw a lump sum of a couple hundred euros once we arrive in town. We split it up between the two of us - I usually place a little in a secret stash somewhere. Guess Marcus knows my secrets now! :) Marcus and I take out more as we need it, but, I find we use the REVOLUT card more often than not.

Using your credit card in Ireland

Credit cards are an easy way to access pay in Ireland. If your cards don’t have any foreign transaction fees, you'll get the actual exchange rate at the exact moment that you swipe your card. Since we use our REVOLUT card as much as we can, we generally don’t have to visit the ATM much more than that first initial withdrawal anyway. Call that credit card company up (just like you did with the debit card) and let them know you’ll be in Ireland. Ask about those foreign transaction fees. If your card has them, consider getting a new card “travel” card before you go. Capital One has some great no annual fee cards with no foreign transaction fees. Or take the time to apply for a Revolut card, especially if travelling to other countries during your trip.

Dynamic Currency Conversion

You may get asked what currency you want to have your credit card charged in when making purchases in Ireland. Always have them charge in the local currency (euros or pounds). If you say US or Canadian dollars, you run the risk of Dynamic Currency Conversion, or getting charged an additional convenience fee for charing in your home currency. Sure you’ll know what the cost is in dollars, but you’ll end up paying more for it. Side note: Vendors aren’t being sneaky when they ask which currency you want. The fee is assessed from the merchant’s service provider that processes the transacation. Usually, the tellers see the question pop up on their point of sale system and need your consent either way to move forward with the transaction. Just say the local currency and you are all good!

Money in Northern Ireland

Everything above applies to Northern Ireland too (Brilliant!). You don’t need to do anything different for your travels up north. Just know they use the pound instead of the euro. If you plan on traveling there and the Republic of Ireland, make sure your credit card and debit card banks know that you’ll be in both locations.

Other names for euro

Drink vouchers

Bob

Quid

Yo-Yo's

Other names for ATM's

Drink Link

Pass machine

Hole in the wall