Many Germans still pay for almost everything with cash, unless they are purchasing a very expensive item like a piece of furniture or household appliance. Credit cards (Kreditkarten) or cheques (Schecks) are not used as often as in North America.
“Der Euro” (the euro) is the currency used in Germany as well as in 16 other EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
The written symbol is EUR or €.
There are seven euro bills: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 dollars.
The values of the euro coins are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents as well as a 1 euro and a 2 euro coin.