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Hungary has an own money, this is the Hungarian Forint (HUF or Ft).

IMPORTANT!
The replacement of banknotes happened in Hungary between 2014 and 2019! Pay attention to the banknotes, because every type has an old and a new version! After the time limit the old banknotes are accepted only in post offices and in banks, where you can change them to the new version. It will be finished 20 years after the withdrawal. The photos of all Hungarian coins and banknotes (valid and not valid ones) are the following:

COINS:
The small changes are the following: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 HUF - the 1 and 2 HUF coins were withdrawn from circulation in March 2008.

BANKNOTES:
These photos show the new versions of the Hungarian currencies. You can accept and pay with them without any limitation. The text "MINTA" is not on the banknote in the reality, it means the photo is only a sample about the original banknote!

The following photos show the old version of the Hungarian currenies. Those banknotes, which you can see in red frame with the red “BEVONVA” text, are already withdrawn from the circulation.

• The old 500HUF banknote was withdrawn from the circulation at 31st October 2019.
• The old 1000HUF banknote was withdrawn from the circulation at 31st October 2018.
• The old 2000HUF banknote was withdrawn from the circulation at 31st July 2017.
• The old 5000HUF banknote was withdrawn from the circulation at 31st July 2017.
• The old 10000HUF banknote was withdrawn from the circulation at 31st December 2019.
• The old 20000HUF banknote was withdrawn from the circulation at 31st December 2017.

More information in Hungarian: HERE

The Hungarian shops, accommodations, restaurants accept only Forint - Euro is accepted only in the bigger hotels. So you have to change money somewhere after your arrival. There are money-changer offices at the railway stations and at the airports. You can change money at almost every bank in Budapest or in the countryside. 1 Euro is about 320-340 Forint at the different money changers (December 2019). But you can find exact data about the currency rates of the Hungarian Forint to the other currencies here:

• http://napiarfolyam.hu

If you will pay with Forint, you have to know, that the shop assistants don't like the big banknotes - 10.000 and 20.000 Forint - in the small shops, particularly in the villages.

Even the smallest villages have a small grocery, food and drink shop. These small shops open in relative early time, between 4-6 a.m. For this reason they close in the early afternoon, or they keep a longer lunch break. Don't expect a big selection in these groceries! Fresh bread and bakery are only in the early morning, but they have packed durable bread, mineral water and tins continuously. Other products: a few type of sausages, cheese, a few vegetable, cheap beer, wine, cola, chocolates. You will find bigger shops, generally Tesco, Auchan, Aldi, Lidl in towns. They are open between 6 a.m. and 6-8 p.m.

ATM machines are everywhere in the towns and in bigger villages, generally at the banks, in the shopping centres, super- and hipermarkets. These machines accept the VISA, Eurocard/Mastercard and American Express credit/debit cards. Of course you can use credit and debit cards to pay with them in different super- and hipermarkets, in the shopping centres and in other shops and restaurants in the towns. Contrarily the use of cards in the countryside is not as widespread as in the towns. Almost sure, that you can’t use them in the shops, pubs, smaller restaurants and guest houses in the villages! The situation is the same at the tourist hostels, key houses and guest houses, as well.

So, you have to keep cash always in your wallit for the costs of the next 4-5 day, until you will reach the next ATM!

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