It can happen even to you
The queue is long. More than the necessary amount of shopping bags are hanging in your hands.
There is no denying: if one goes on holiday with his wife and teenage daughter, spending can shoot up. It is your turn at last.
The cashier is smiling and helping you to put on the counter all the female clothes that take up more cubic meters. She is telling you the amount and you are taking out your bank card and handing it over to her.
While drawing your card, you hear beeping that comes to you like a thunderstorm, and you are looking at the cashier questioningly who is telling you with her weak English that payment has been rejected by the terminal. Then a second trial is coming.
You are fidgeting with your phone in an embarrassing way, and you suddenly see three warning messages sent by your bank: due to unusual transactions we have blocked your card for safety reasons. Please, contact our bank as soon as possible.
Accompanied by the piercing look of your wife and child, you start to turn your pockets inside out, looking for some cash.
Luckily, you do not understand anything from the words people are murmuring behind you, but the tone and the length of the queue help you to interpret what they may be saying.
Although you are not aware of the denominations of the Hungarian Forint, you can still see that the number of zeros seen on the banknotes that you have found in your pockets is desperately far from what you can see on the till.
Your wife and child have disappeared. You are leaving after them amid apologies, completely blushed.
The shame, and the hatred that the female members of your family feel about you can be relieved only by the knowledge that at least your money has not been spent.
A holiday can really be spoilt if we cannot pay for some reasons
Certainly, in Budapest, different bank cards are accepted at most places, but if you want to avoid the above-described situation, you had better have some emergency cash reserves on you in the local currency, just to be on the safe side.
In the capital city, several branches of the big banks are present, and at these, you can change money or withdraw cash from an ATM which can be found in each.
The bank branches have usual opening hours, while the ATMs are available round the clock.
In downtown, you can find a cash dispenser at nearly every corner, which is operated by bigger banks. It is recommended to withdraw cash from these.
The banks do not impose an extra fee for using these ATMs. Please, try to avoid no-name cash dispensers and the ones which give euro.
The reason, among others, is that although in the capital city paying with euro is possible in many places, the exchange rates are many times higher than they should be, so we had better avoid it.
Where to exchange money in Budapest – A Complete Guide to how not to be fleeced
If you happen to have any problem with your bank card or the bank account belonging to that, in the bank branches of the big international banks, the clerks help you with pleasure to find a solution.
Making yourself understood will not be a problem, as at least English is spoken well everywhere.
A holiday can really be spoilt if we cannot pay for some reasons. If you visit Budapest, you can find a solution to all the occurring problems, because several bank branches are available.
You have nothing else to do but to squander the money you saved up for your holiday without thinking.
A list of the recommended bank branches in Budapest by districts
District I.
- Raiffeisen Bank – 1011 Budapest, Batthyány tér 5-6.
- Erste Bank – 1011 Budapest, Krisztina tér 2.
- OTP Bank – 1011 Budapest, Iskola utca 38-42.
- MKB Bank – 1013 Budapest Alagút u.5.
District II.
- Raiffeisen Bank – 1024 Budapest, Lövőház u. 2-6. (Mammut shopping center)
- OTP Bank – 1024 Budapest, Fény utca 11-13.
- UniCredit – 1023 Budapest, Bécsi út 3-5.
- CIB Bank – 1024 Budapest, Lövőház u. 7-9.
District III.
- Erste Bank – 1032 Budapest, Bécsi út 154. (Eurocenter)
- UniCredit – 1036 Budapest, Lajos u. 48-66.
- Raiffeisen Bank – 1037 Budapest, Szépvölgyi út 41.
- Budapest Bank – 1039 Budapest, Heltai Jenő tér 15.
District IV.
- OTP Bank – 1042 Budapest, Árpád út 63-65.
- Erste Bank – 1042 Budapest, Árpád út 70.
- Sberbank – 1045 Budapest, Árpád út 56.
District V.
- Erste Bank – 1051 Budapest, Vörösmarty tér 4.
- K&H Bank – 1051 Budapest, Arany J. u. 20.
- OTP Bank – 1052 Budapest, Deák Ferenc utca 7-9.
- Sberbank – 1052 Budapest, Váci u. 19-21.
- UniCredit – 1053 Budapest, Ferenciek tere 2.
- Raiffeisen Bank – 1053 Budapest, Kecskeméti utca 14.
- CIB Bank – 1054 Budapest, Szabadság tér 15.
District VI.
- CIB Bank – 1062 Budapest, Váci út 1-3. (Westend City Center)
- Raiffeisen Bank – 1062 Budapest, Váci út 1-3. (Westend City Center)
- UniCredit – 1067 Budapest, Teréz krt. 21.
District VII.
- OTP Bank – 1075 Budapest, Károly krt. 25.
- K&H Bank 1075 Budapest, Károly krt. 17-19.
- CIB Bank – 1077 Budapest, Baross tér 17.
District VIII.
- Erste Bank – 1082 Budapest Baross u. 1-3.
- OTP Bank – 1083 Budapest, Futó utca 35-45 (Corvin Plaza)
- Raiffeisen Bank – 1085 Budapest, Üllői út 36.
- CIB Bank – 1087 Budapest, Kerepesi út 9. (Aréna Plaza)
District IX.
- Erste Bank – 1091 Budapest, Üllői út 121.
- MKB – 1093 Budapest, Soroksári út 3/C
- OTP Bank – 1094 Budapest, Ferenc krt. 13.
- UniCredit – 1097 Budapest, Könyves Kálmán krt. 12-14. (Lurdy shopping center)
District X.
- Raiffeisen Bank – 1102 Budapest, Kőrösi Csoma Sándor út 6.
- Erste Bank – 1102 Budapest, Kőrösi Csoma sétány 9/b.
- OTP Bank – 1106 Budapest, Örs vezér tere 25.
- Sberbank – 1106 Budapest, Örs vezér tere 25/A
District XI.
- Erste Bank – 1114 Budapest, Bartók Béla út 43-47.
- Raiffeisen Bank – 1114 Budapest, Bocskai út 1.
- OTP Bank – 1115 Budapest, Bartók Béla út 92-94.
District XII.
- K&H Bank – 1122 Budapest, Magyar Jakobinusok tere 1.
- Raiffeisen Bank – 1123 Budapest, Alkotás u. 1/a
- OTP Bank – 1124 Budapest, Apor Vilmos tér 11.
District XIII.
- Sberbank – 1132 Budapest, Váci út 36-38.
- CIB Bank – 1132 Budapest, Váci út 6.
- Erste Bank – 1135 Budapest, Lehel út 70-72.
- OTP Bank – 1137 Budapest, Pozsonyi út 38.
- UniCredit – 1137 Budapest, Szent István körút 16.
District XIV.
- Erste Bank – 1143 Budapest, Gizella út 59.
- MKB – 1146 Budapest, Thököly út 100.
- OTP Bank – 1149 Budapest, Bosnyák tér 17.
District XV.
- Erste Bank – 1151 Budapest, Szentmihályi út 131. (Pólus Center)
- Raiffeisen Bank – 1152 Budapest, Szentmihályi út 137.
- OTP Bank – 1157 Budapest, Zsókavár utca 28.
District XVI.
- Sberbank – 1161 Budapest, Rákosi út 103.
- OTP Bank – 1163 Budapest, Jókai utca 3.
- Raiffeisen Bank – 1165 Budapest, Jókai u. 2-4
District XVII.
- K&H Bank – 1173 Budapest, Ferihegyi út 74.
- Erste Bank – 1173 Budapest, Pesti út 169.
- MKB – 1173 Budapest Pesti út 237.
District XVIII.
- Erste Bank – 1181 Budapest, Darus u. 5.
- Raiffeisen Bank – 1181 Budapest, Üllői út 417.
- UniCredit – 1188 Budapest, Nagykőrösi út 49.
- OTP Bank – 1188 Budapest, Vasút utca 48.
District XIX.
Erste Bank – 1191 Budapest, Kossuth tér 23-24.
UniCredit – 1191 Budapest, Üllői út 201. (Europark)
OTP Bank – 1195 Budapest, Üllői út 285.
District XX.
- CIB Bank – 1203 Budapest, Kossuth Lajos u. 21-29.
- Raiffeisen Bank – 1203 Budapest, Kossuth Lajos u. 21-29.
District XXI.
- MKB – 1211 Budapest, II. Rákóczi F. út 154-170 (Csepel Plaza)
- OTP Bank – 1211 Budapest, Kossuth Lajos utca 99
District XXII.
- Sberbank – 1221 Budapest, Kossuth Lajos u. 34.
- CIB Bank – 1221 Budapest, Nagytétényi út 37-43. (Campona shopping center)
- UniCredit – 1222 Budapest, Nagytétényi út 37-43. (Campona shopping center)
District XXIII.
- OTP Bank – 1238 Budapest, Grassalkovich út 160.
- CIB Bank – 1238 Budapest, Hősök tere 9.
- Erste Bank – 1239 Budapest, Bevásárló u. 2.
- Sberbank – 1239 Budapest, Grassalkovich u.167.