ATMs, cards and cash in Montenegro

The euro without the EU

The euro has been Montenegro's sole legal tender since March 2002, adopted without membership of the EU or the euro area. Prices are in euros and there is no local currency; the other everyday costs, from SIM cards to fuel, are on the travel tips page and the fuel prices page.

ATM fees by bank

The surcharge is what the ATM's bank charges a card issued abroad, from each bank's own tariff sheet; whatever your own card issuer charges comes on top.

The other eight banks, Erste Bank, Lovćen banka, Prva banka, Addiko Bank, Zapad banka, Ziraat Bank, Universal Capital Bank and Adriatic Bank, give no figure in their tariffs. The Central Bank's fee-comparison service covers payment-account fees for the banks' own customers, not what visitors pay at ATMs.

Pay in euros, not in your own currency

When an ATM or card terminal offers to charge a foreign card in its own currency instead of euros, the bank converts the amount and adds its own charge (dynamic currency conversion): 10% at Hipotekarna ATMs and 6% at its terminals, 13% at NLB ATMs, and 10% at CKB ATMs and 6% at its terminals. These percentages apply only when the amount is charged in the card's currency; the withdrawal surcharges in the table still apply. Choose euros on the screen and let your own bank convert.

Where the ATMs are

The machines follow the visitors: the densest networks are in Podgorica, Budva, Kotor, Herceg Novi, Bar and Ulcinj, and every municipality has at least one ATM. NLB Banka's machines run 24 hours almost everywhere and 29 of them take euro deposits; Addiko marks its deposit ATMs as a 24/7 zone. Lovćen banka lists 78 machines branded Euronet in hotels, shops and restaurants on the coast and at both airports, Podgorica and Tivat; no tariff states what those charge, so a bank's own ATM is the safer choice.

Cards or cash

There is no official list of where cards are accepted, so carry some cash. Withdraw it at ATMs inside banks where you can.

Bringing cash in or out

Cash and other means of payment of EUR 10,000 or more, or the equivalent, must be declared to customs on entry and on exit on the prescribed form; cheques and bearer instruments count. Undeclared cash of that size brings a fine of EUR 550 to 2,000 for an individual. When there is no suspicion of crime, the cash itself is not seized. The crossings themselves are on the border crossings page.

ATMs by town

The directory lists the ATMs and branches of all 11 licensed banks by town, with 24-hour and cash-deposit machines marked. Branches keep roughly office hours; the post offices page covers the other counter network that handles money.