Back in the United States, I proudly brag about my adherence to the “Swedish standard”—that is, that I avoid using or even carrying cash. My debit card, credit card, and Venmo have essentially obviated the need for the actual bills or, God forbid, coins.
However, in Madrid, my beloved Swedish standard is almost wholly unsustainable. I tried it, and, had it not been for a good friend to whom I became very indebted, I wouldn’t have made it. I spent a week locked out of my checking account, paying for large purchases in restaurants with a card, and accepting cash repayments or simply recording what others had bought for me.
To me (when I can in fact use my debit card), the preponderance of cash in the everyday economy of Madrid simply requires more cash, far more coins (unfortunately the lowest bill is five euros), and a weekly trip up the street to tap MAC. But much more than just leaving me with heavy pockets, Spain’s cash-heavy economy reflects the development of a particular set of commercial and social institutions.
My first lesson came on the day of exchange student orientation when I was late, lost, and looking for a Starbucks to prevent the headache looming in my near future if my coffee habit was not quelled. That first day, I found one—and I am yet to find another since. As I learned in the coming days, only the foreigners go to Starbucks. Real madrileños go to their neighborhood bar, where they know the server by name, and the server knows their order by heart.
That’s not to say chains are foreign to Madrid; Lizarran and Cervecería La Sureña specialize in serving beer and tapas. And they are everywhere. The food is only okay, but with cheap beer and patio seating they are hugely successful. And even though Taco Bell sells margaritas and mojitos with its gorditas and chalupas, American chains just cannot compete.
Servers expect their customers to pay with cash. I’ve received groans from servers who have to run back to the counter to get the card reader. I’ve even been passed off by a server, who was apparently too busy to deal with the delays of the card reader, to a white-haired manager who had almost no understanding of the card reader or its related technologies.
For larger purchases, Spaniards use credit cards. More interestingly, though, they use their credit cards in stores that seem oddly familiar to this American. Take, for instance, El Corte Inglés, the chain of huge seven- or eight- floor department stores that seems to be present everywhere you turn, and has everything from grocery stores to travel agencies, to its most lucrative sector, clothing. It is Macy’s on steroids. It is Amazon if it had a physical store. And, most importantly, it’s a foreigner’s dream, stocking everything anyone might need under one huge, bright, easy-to-find roof.
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