Is cash still needed in Malta or did the island completely transition to credit cards?

Question

I'm going to visit Malta in April. Should I withdraw some Euros from the ATM for this trip or did Malta completely transition to using credit cards by now?

By "credit cards" I'm referring to payment cards issued by Visa/Mastercard.

Answer 1

We came back from a Malta holiday two days ago. (March 2022) While all the restaurants we visited accepted cards, some cafes had signs like

Sorry, cash only!

I remember this even on the main tourist street in Valletta.

The small pizza-bakeries you find on many streets accepted only cash. Same as the fruit trucks that sell their produce on the streets, at least in the country side.

Many people still pay their bus fares with cash, even though you may use your card, still better get a tellinja card before boarding the bus.

So we didn't notice anything close to a full transition to credit cards.

In many countries you need change for public toilets, but all the ones we used on Malta were free.

So I would bring some cash and not rely on cards completely.

EDIT: There are ATMs all over the place, at least in towns and tourist areas. Whether they work with all cards from all countries I can not say.

EDIT-2: On a side note, if you are going to use public transport, the Tallinja - Plan your bus trip official app was pretty useless. While the routes seem correct, the departure times given were mostly wrong, differing from the times listed at the bus stops which were more accurate. Google maps gives you the times from the bus stops.

Answer 2

Spending two weeks in Malta in 2021, I used cash only in street cafes - some seem annoyed when you pay a single cafe with credit card, and even if not, it takes a lot more time than dropping some coins and walking away.
If you really wanted to, you could probably get through your whole trip without cash; but I recommend to carry a small amount just for in case.

Enjoy it! I found Malta to be a positive surprise, exceeding my expectations.