🇧🇷 Brazil: bunq Community Travel Tips

bunq

✈️ Heading to Brazil? We've gathered some tips from the bunq community to make sure your trip is the smoothest it can be. 😎

Check them out below! 🌈 👇

Using your card

💳 Do I need cash in Brazil, or can I use my card everywhere?

Cards are accepted in touristy spots, but it's
wise to carry cash on you.
You especially want to have cash for small priced items, where cards are less likely to be accepted.

💰 What currency do they use here?

The currency here is Brazilian Reais. The symbol is R$ or BRL.

🏧 Which ATM’s can I use for free?

The bunq community has reported free withdrawals at these ATMs.

Banco do Brasil
Branco Bradesco

💵 If I want cash, how much should I take out of an ATM?

R$250 should be enough for a few days.

💳 Should I choose local currency or Euros when paying?

If you're asked to choose between local currency and Euros, always choose local currency.

That way bunq does the conversion for you, and you get to take advantage of the best rates with bunq ZeroFX.

Staying connected

📱 Can I roam, or should I get a local SIM?

Most EU mobile plans will charge you for roaming in Brazil.

If you want to get a local SIM card, you can learn about your options here.

Useful things to know

💁‍♀️ How does tipping work?

A service fee of 10% is normally included on the bill.

Locals only consider tipping extra if the service was extremely good.

🍺 How much does a 0.5L beer cost?

€1,50

🍽 How much does an average meal cost?

€5,00

🚨 What’s the emergency number?

There are different numbers for the different services here.

🚓 Police: 190
🚑 Ambulance: 192
🚒 Fire: 193

🔌 What type of plug do they use?

This one! It’s the standard two pin plug.

🚗 What side of the road do they drive on?

They drive on the right side of the road here.

🗺 How do I navigate my way around?

Google and Apple Maps both work well in Brazil.

Otherwise, we recommend Rome2Rio as the best way to find out how to get anywhere. It even tells you the cost of each option. 🙌

👀 Any other good tips?

If you are into meat, you should not leave the country without trying the traditional picanha, and join a local BBQ if the opportunity arises.
Brazilians are warm and welcoming people who will easily invite you to spend time with them.

If you've been to Brazil 🇧🇷 share your experience! The following would be really useful for other bunqers to know:

Which ATMs are free to use?
What card should I use and where?
Any other info you think may be useful.

Share your experience with us in the comments below! 🌈 👇

Acamara

As a Brazilian, I agree with everything!

Panta

Excellent tips

NiB

On the topic of electrical plugs/sockets, maybe it should be noted uses different voltages (127V or 220V) depending on the region or even city. While this shouldn't be a problem for most universal chargers/power adapters that a tourist might bring, better be safe than sorry.

At least in the South, I've found card acceptance at least on par with Germany. Even some mobile drink/food vendors took them - something that's still largely unheard of in Germany (though, crucially, a government-set up toll booth didn't was a notable exception in not accepting cards).

It's still wise to carry cash.

igoramadas

I spent 3 cashless weeks in Brazil last month. Didn't need to use cash, not even once.

Depending on where you go (specially the main cities in the South and South East) you can pay for everything with a credit / debit card, with very few exceptions - like the guys running around selling ice cream at the beach. Bahia and some places in the north you should be safe to use mostly card on daily shops (supermarkets, restaurants, events etc). Also if you're driving around, some highways will have tolls and they only accept cash, unless you are a local and have a green-go tag that gets the money from your bank or credit card.

Compared to Germany, I think Brazil is light years ahead in terms of card acceptance. To be honest I think Germany is one of the worst places to live if you want to go full digital.

Anna-Blue-Butterfly-149646247

I just arrived in Brazil and realized that I cannot withdraw any cash. I tried already several banks including the above mentioned Branco Bradesco. I haven't tried the Banco do Brazil yet. The other banks don't add a fee; they just don't accept my travelcard at all.
Payments in supermarkets etc worked without problems though. Daily limit and country allowance is all corrctly set.

igoramadas

Solvejg Did you try on a "Banco 24 Horas"? Red booths / terminals. These are like the Brazilian Euronet (and shouldn't add a fee either, I hope...)

Stephan

Solvejg You should use the Maestro card. the MasterCard debit does not work for debit in Brazil (in my experience).

Anna-Blue-Butterfly-149646247

Hi, thanks for the answers. I tried banco do Brasil and also banco 24 horas (which would add a fee of R$24). Both didn't work either. At banco do Brasil, they told us that they have problems with international cards at the moment. I have only a travelcard from bunq with me but that is a credit (not debit) mastercard. I gonna try my visa card from another bank later. Fortunately, you can pay almost everywhere by card.

Giorgio-Yellow-Lynx

Io sono a Fortaleza non ho avuto problemi riguardo i pagamenti tutti accettano la carta bunq ,al banco Bradesco ad ogni prelievo viene preso 0,99 euri molta bassa come commissione quindi andate tranquilli e godetevi la vancanza

Volker-Aquamarine-Tiger

Gerade in Brasilien gewesen. Mit der Bunq Karte ging eigentlich nur Banco Bradesco - ohne ATM Gebühr. Santander nahm eine Foreign currency Fee von 20 BRL. Mit der Openbank Karte ging's bei Santander ohne Gebühren.

Katia-Olive-Lynx

Bunq cards are pretty acceptable in may terminals in Brazil, however in the region of Bahia some cards machines do not read international cards. For that, I recommend to always have some cash with you. Withdrawing money it is also something to consider as you can only cash 250 euros per day. If travelling with a family you might need to consider planning some withdrawals in advance.

thijsoost

Kátia Beginning bunq users can withdraw cash €250/day in the first three months, but after that you can withdraw €500/day

New-Jade-Weasel-1479090554

If I go to Brazil, the euro goes real, it converts automatically?

Jakob-Y

Victor Emanuel Yes, you can use bunq cards to pay in any currency. Just make sure to enable the country in your card's settings. More info here: https://together.bunq.com/d/2815

And some advice: If there is ever an ATM or payment terminal that asks you to choose between currencies, always choose the currency of the country you're in currently. For example if you go to Poland and an ATM asks you if you want to pay for your withdrawal in Euro or in Zloty, you should choose Zloty. If you're in Brazil and a payment terminal asks you to choose between Euro or Real, then choose Real.

Why? Because it's much cheaper if you let bunq do the currency conversion instead of the merchant doing the conversion for you. More info on that: https://milelion.com/2015/04/24/beware-the-dynamic-currency-conversion-scam/

New-Jade-Weasel-1479090554

Sé meu cartão e débito mais se eu n ter ele físico mais digital pela Apple Wallet como pegar o dinheiro que está na minha conta ?

Jakob-Y

Victor Emanuel ATMs that accept contactless cards are quite rare. If you want to withdraw cash, then a physical card is recommended. Also make sure to get a Mastercard, not a Maestro. Because outside of Europe, the Maestro will not always work.

Thiago-Pink-Butterfly

Hi. Is it possible to withdraw euros in Brazil anywhere? I'm asking because I don't have any cash with me and I'm traveling to a place where it is recommended to bring cash.