💳 Payment Methods - Métodos de pago
Beginner Spanish · Paying and checkout
Making Payments in Spanish
Payment Spanish becomes easier when you learn the language in the order you use it: ask for the bill, choose how to pay, use the payment terminal, split a bill if needed, and ask for a receipt.
Your next small win: say how you want to pay, ask about card or mobile payment, split a restaurant bill, understand simple checkout instructions, and ask for a receipt.
Start with the essentials
Core Payment Vocabulary
These words cover the most common parts of a restaurant or store payment.
Credit card
Debit card
Cash
Bill / check
Receipt
Checkout / register
Name four payment words
Say “credit card, cash, bill, and receipt” in Spanish.
Tarjeta de crédito, efectivo, cuenta y recibo.
Choose how to pay
Card, Cash, Mobile, and Contactless Payments
Use pagar con with cards or a phone. Use pagar en efectivo for cash.
I'm going to pay by card.
I'm going to pay in cash.
I'm going to pay with my phone.
Can I pay with my phone?
Do you accept contactless payments?
Useful pattern: ¿Puedo + infinitive...? is a simple way to ask whether a payment option is possible: ¿Puedo pagar con el móvil?
Choose a payment method
Ask whether you can pay with your phone, then say that you are going to pay by card.
¿Puedo pagar con el móvil?
Voy a pagar con tarjeta.
More payment technology vocabulary
Mobile payment
Contactless payment
Payment terminal
PIN
Handle a restaurant bill
Asking for and Splitting the Bill
Use la cuenta for a restaurant bill. If several people are paying, you can ask to split it or pay separately.
The bill, please.
Could you bring me the bill?
Can we split the bill?
Can we pay separately?
Together, please.
Separately, please.
Paying at a restaurant
The bill, please.
Of course. Together or separately?
Separately, please.
Split a bill
Ask for the bill, then ask whether you can pay separately.
La cuenta, por favor.
¿Podemos pagar por separado?
Complete the payment
At the Payment Terminal
You may hear short instructions when using a card or contactless payment. Learn them as practical chunks.
Here's my card.
You can tap or hold the card near the terminal.
Enter your PIN.
Can I have the receipt, please?
Store checkout
Card or cash?
By card.
You can tap or hold the card near the terminal.
Tip vocabulary
Tip
To leave a tip
The tip is included.
Vocabulary note: tipping customs vary by place and situation. This lesson focuses only on understanding and using the Spanish words and phrases.
Complete a card payment
Say that you are paying by card, then ask for the receipt.
Voy a pagar con tarjeta.
¿Me da el recibo, por favor?
Your turn · 8 quick questions
Practice: Making Payments
Choose the answer that best fits each situation. Focus on payment methods, restaurant bills, contactless payments, receipts, and splitting a bill.
Practice complete
You can handle a basic payment in Spanish.
A few payment phrases to revisit
One last step: complete a payment without choices.
Ask for the bill, say that you want to pay separately, choose a payment method, and ask for a receipt.
La cuenta, por favor.
¿Podemos pagar por separado?
Voy a pagar con tarjeta.
¿Me da el recibo, por favor?
At a restaurant, you want the bill. What do you say?
- La cuenta, por favor.
- El recibo, por favor.
- La propina, por favor.
- La tarjeta, por favor.
La cuenta, por favor is a natural way to ask for the restaurant bill.
La cuenta, por favor.
The server asks, “¿Juntos o separados?” You want to pay separately. What do you answer?
- Separados, por favor.
- Juntos, por favor.
- Con tarjeta, por favor.
- La cuenta, por favor.
Separados, por favor means that the payments should be separate.
Separados, por favor.
You want to ask directly whether the group can split the bill. Which question fits?
- ¿Podemos dividir la cuenta?
- ¿Podemos pagar con el móvil?
- ¿Podemos pedir el recibo?
- ¿Podemos usar la caja?
Dividir la cuenta means “to split the bill.”
¿Podemos dividir la cuenta?
You want to pay using your phone. What do you say?
- Voy a pagar con el móvil.
- Voy a pagar en efectivo.
- Voy a dividir la cuenta.
- Voy a pedir el recibo.
Pagar con el móvil means “to pay with your phone.”
Voy a pagar con el móvil.
You want to know whether contactless payment is accepted. What do you ask?
- ¿Aceptan pagos sin contacto?
- ¿Aceptan pagos en efectivo?
- ¿Podemos dividir la cuenta?
- ¿Me puede traer la cuenta?
Pago sin contacto means “contactless payment.”
¿Aceptan pagos sin contacto?
You are told to enter your PIN. Which phrase matches?
- Introduzca su PIN.
- Acérquese a la caja.
- Firme el recibo.
- Divida la cuenta.
Introduzca su PIN means “Enter your PIN.”
Introduzca su PIN.
You have finished paying and want the receipt. What do you ask?
- ¿Me da el recibo, por favor?
- ¿Me trae la cuenta, por favor?
- ¿Aceptan pagos sin contacto?
- ¿Podemos pagar por separado?
Recibo means “receipt,” while cuenta is the bill before payment.
¿Me da el recibo, por favor?
You see that the tip has already been added. Which sentence matches?
- La propina está incluida.
- La cuenta está dividida.
- La tarjeta está incluida.
- El recibo está separado.
La propina está incluida means “The tip is included.”
La propina está incluida.