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The currency of Spain is the Euro, with one Euro equalling 100 cents. Notes come in denominations of €500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5. Coins are in denominations of €2 and 1, and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 cents. Money can be exchanged at many bureaus, banks, hotels and airports. Traveller’s cheques are accepted very widely, though to avoid additional conversion charges these should be in US Dollars, Pounds Sterling or Euros. ATMs are widespread through Spain and major international credit and debit cards are accepted. See: Visa: http://www.visa.com/atms/ MasterCard: http://www.mastercard.com/cardholderservices/atm/ The import and export of both domestic and foreign currency is unlimited, though amounts of around €6,000 and above must be declared. General banking hours in most areas are from 0900 to 1400 Mondays to Fridays and from 0900 to 1300 on Saturdays. Normal shopping hours are usually from 1000 to 1300 and 1600 to 2000, Mondays to Saturdays, with larger stores opening longer hours. Formal suits are expected of business meetings along with obvious politeness – punctuality is important. English is widely spoken in business circles, but a knowledge of Spanish, even at a basic level, would be a great help. Service charges are included in hotel and restaurant bills, but it is customary to tip around ten percent for other services – taxis, waiters etc.
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