Cash or Card? Countries where you still need cash.

[DrGear]

Our trip to Japan this year was a marked difference to the last one pre covid. The acceptance of cards was WAY higher than it was and I could even use my Amex in a bunch of places.

Travelling out into rural nowhere like Niigata and Yamagata, it was still more old school and cash based but once again, a significant uptick in places that take card. I always had about 5万円 on me, but I only needed to withdraw cash from the 711 like, twice the whole trip.

We used a Wise card for cash withdrawals which wasn’t too bad, better than the forex places and using the card for payments rather than cash worked out better given the rates and no withdrawal charge.

I also used my Airwallex card for business expenses there but ended up closing that account this month when they brought in stupid plans. Don’t put enough through them a month to get the fee waived.

 

[Seat0B]

This year, we were mainly in the Kyushu region, and were often met with the Cash Only requirement in a range of settings.

We have had this same experience in many locations in Japan. Earlier this year in Nozawa Onsen, the number of young (mainly) Aussies who did not have the cash JPY1000 fare for the bus to IIyama to connect to the train system was just astonishing. And we also spoke on a lift with another young Aussie in Madarao who was annoyed that he had to pay cash for things - and as he did not have cash, he had to go to the nearest ATM to get cash, which was 30 mins by bus away in Iiyama, which in turn required a JPY500 yen bus trip. He only managed to get there because a fellow traveller took pity on him and paid his fare for him so he could go to the ATM.

So call me old fashioned, but I always want to have a bit of cash for every country I visit. If I don't use it, it can become a trip souvenir!

Edit: typos

 

[Seat0B]

I take cash, 3 credit cards, 3 ATM cards and then everything available to be used on my Google wallet as well.

Yes, this is how the Seat family does it too. And we make sure that we each have separate cards rather than runner cards so that if one card is lost, stolen, hacked, eaten by machine etc, the other person still has access to funds.

 

[ShelleyB]

We have had this same experience in many locations in Japan. Earlier this year in Nozawa Onsen, the number of young (mainly) Aussies who did not have the cash JPY1000 fare for the bus to IIyama to connect to the train system was just astonishing. And we also spoke on a lift with another young Aussie in Madarao who was annoyed that he had to pay cash for things - and as he did not have cash, he had to go to the nearest ATM to get cash, which was 30 mins by bus away in Iiyama, which in turn required a JPY500 yen bus trip. He only managed to get there because a fellow traveller took pity on him and paid his fare for him so he could go to the ATM.

So call be old fashioned, but I always want to have a bit of cash for every country I visit. If I don;t use it, it can become a trip souvenir!

The lack of preparation by some travellers is amazing isn't it? It's hardly a secret that cash is still required in many places in Japan, including sometimes in quite touristy areas. A quick google would surely forewarn people that it would be wise to at least get some cash out of an ATM upon arrival at the airport.

 

[Seat0B]

Arrived in Laos yesterday and the airport taxi service only accepts cash. Also needed cash to buy an intercity train ticket. From what I’ve seen so far, cards are not that widely accepted and cash payments are only allowed in kip.

I had the same experience in Laos in 2019. Cash was needed everywhere except my hotel and restaurants that specialised in serving tourists. Needed cash for convenience store, tuk tuk driver, entry fees, food stalls, local restaurants, most shops - pretty much everywhere. As kip was a controlled currency at that time (maybe still is), there were limited places to get it and I under-allowed when I got my initial supply at the airport and had to use the hotel for a float - at the usual poor hotel exchange rate, but it wasn't sheep stations (should have put this part in the travel mistakes thread!). At the end of my trip, I had a bit left over - about AUD100 by my reckoning, even after I had left tips all round. When I went to convert it on leaving the fees etc were so steep that (from memory) I was going to get back something like $27. So I declined, and looked for someone to give it to. Found an Aussie couple about my age or a bit older in the coffee shop and we got chatting. They were heading up to Luang Prabang for a Vietnam veterans reunion, so I gave it to them and said buy some beers. They were very grateful. Plus I warned them to spend or gift it all before leaving Laos.

 

[burmans]

I had the same experience in Laos in 2019. Cash was needed everywhere except my hotel and restaurants that specialised in serving tourists. Needed cash for convenience store, tuk tuk driver, entry fees, food stalls, local restaurants, most shops - pretty much everywhere. As kip was a controlled currency at that time (maybe still is), there were limited places to get it and I under-allowed when I got my initial supply at the airport and had to use the hotel for a float - at the usual poor hotel exchange rate, but it wasn't sheep stations (should have put this part in the travel mistakes thread!). At the end of my trip, I had a bit left over - about AUD100 by my reckoning, even after I had left tips all round. When I went to convert it on leaving the fees etc were so steep that (from memory) I was going to get back something like $27. So I declined, and looked for someone to give it to. Found an Aussie couple about my age or a bit older in the coffee shop and we got chatting. They were heading up to Luang Prabang for a Vietnam veterans reunion, so I gave it to them and said buy some beers. They were very grateful. Plus I warned them to spend or gift it all before leaving Laos.

$100 buys a lot of beers in Laos!

 

[Seat0B]

$100 buys a lot of beers in Laos!

Yes it does! I was pleased to give a bit of enjoyment to their group. I had also given a hefty tip at hotel and to taxi when I realised I had too much cash, but had kept a bit back in case of unexpected expenses that have surprised me on other trips before eg departure tax payable only in cash, super expensive airport coffee, food etc - on this trip I had limited lounge access as it was a work trip so BFOD and not OW, and the lounge I got had nothing except nescafe and 2 min noodles, so I went out for coffee....

 

[dinhoecotour]

Cash is king in Vietnam but you can use both.

 

[randompunter]

So call me old fashioned, but I always want to have a bit of cash for every country I visit. If I don't use it, it can become a trip souvenir!

Edit: typos

Definitely, cash has got us out of a pickle many times, it's still common in some parts of the world to find ATMs that are broken, randomly refuse our cards, or just non-existent. You can always spend the leftover cash on overpriced junk at the airport or keep for a future trip (oops.. my 200 Argy pesos from that trip in 2009 have since depreciated from $60 to 30 cents . Also, remember those Indian 500 and 1000 rupee notes that got demonetised )

Kids these days have it so easy, they will never know the pain/inconvenience of getting and cashing travellers' cheques!!

 

[Chicken]

Kids these days have it so easy, they will never know the pain/inconvenience of getting and cashing travellers' cheques!!

As someone from the 80s when travelers' checks was a thing, and growing up watching ads on TV promoting American Express Travelers Cheques, I never really understood the reason for someone to get them. Why wouldn't you just exchange cash before you go, and if you needed more after arrival, wouldn't you just use your ATM card? There was already Plus System and Cirrus and Maestro when I was in rimary school, I remember.

 

[Lynda2475]

As someone from the 80s when travelers' checks was a thing, and growing up watching ads on TV promoting American Express Travelers Cheques, I never really understood the reason for someone to get them. Why wouldn't you just exchange cash before you go, and if you needed more after arrival, wouldn't you just use your ATM card? There was already Plus System and Cirrus and Maestro when I was in rimary school, I remember.

Mostly for security, given majority of people dont like carrying large wads of cash around. Travellers Cheques were registered so if you reported them lost or stolen they were replaced usually over night. In many stores you could use them just like cash (with ID) and you could receive any change in local currency.

It was a secure way to lock in a good exchnage rate when the AUD rarely did well.

International fee free debit/credit cards werent super common until the late 90s.

 

[SYD]

As someone from the 80s when travelers' checks was a thing, and growing up watching ads on TV promoting American Express Travelers Cheques, I never really understood the reason for someone to get them. Why wouldn't you just exchange cash before you go, and if you needed more after arrival, wouldn't you just use your ATM card? There was already Plus System and Cirrus and Maestro when I was in rimary school, I remember.

Carry large wads of cash around isn’t particularly secure. TCs were individually number and could be replaced (they needed to be countersigned with the PP to cash them otherwise).

Not many peeps had free ATM access many years ago. My first card I could use OS was an
AMEX with “Direct Cash” link to a another bank account - set up in 1990.

 

[randompunter]

As someone from the 80s when travelers' checks was a thing, and growing up watching ads on TV promoting American Express Travelers Cheques, I never really understood the reason for someone to get them. Why wouldn't you just exchange cash before you go, and if you needed more after arrival, wouldn't you just use your ATM card? There was already Plus System and Cirrus and Maestro when I was in rimary school, I remember.

ATMs were often thin on the ground, I remember being in Cambodia in the early 2000s and couldn't find one. Also exchanging before you go wouldn't work for more obscure currencies, I guess you could take a wad of cash and exchange over there but depending on the country they may not want AUD and you would have to do a double convert via USD or GBP and lose twice.

 

[VPS]

As someone from the 80s when travelers' checks was a thing, and growing up watching ads on TV promoting American Express Travelers Cheques, I never really understood the reason for someone to get them. Why wouldn't you just exchange cash before you go, and if you needed more after arrival, wouldn't you just use your ATM card? There was already Plus System and Cirrus and Maestro when I was in rimary school, I remember.

You're obviously a lot younger than I am then, When I was travelling ATM were few and far between. I don't think I even had a credit card

 

[Chicken]

Interesting take from some of you.

I was born in the early 80s in Hong Kong, and I remember, I got my first ATM card before I was even 16, thru Hang Seng Bank, which was already part of HSBC. Back then, because China was still closed, and Union Pay didn't exist, so my ATM card had GlobalAccess (which is the HSBC ATM network) and Plus System logos printed on the back. I was like 'wow, I could go overseas with this'. (This is no longer the case, and banks in Hong Kong are now mostly using UnionPay from China)

I changed to Standard Chartered later on, got an ATM card from them with Cirrus and Maestro logos on the back. I came to Australia in the early 90s for a holiday, and saw all the shops with Commonwealth Bank stickers stuck to the doors, with logos of Bankcard (of course), and also MasterCard and Maestro. I thought "Wow, Maestro logo on all the shop fronts, I have this logo on my card, I could walk into these stores and swipe my Standard Chartered card and buy stuffs. This is pretty amazing".

Hence, I never really understood the thing with travellers' cheques, as even when I relocated to Australia in the early 90s, it was just paying cash and sticking my ATM card from Hong Kong into a dodgy ATM. Living on the Northern Beaches back then (yeah, insular peninsula), I never saw a place which would cash travellers checks.

Mind you, ATMs in the 80s in Hong Kong already had proper CRT monitors, so when I first came to Australia and saw those ATMs with the tiny thing which you needed to peek into, like looking into a binocular, and look at the orange lights inside, at first, I didn't even know how to use them, then after I figured out how to use them, I was like "What the earth is this antique!".

Of course, I have been to this one place where cash is the only option for us - DPRK (or what you call North Korea)! (And I have written 2 trip reports heres for my 2 journeys there )

 

[VPS]

Interesting take from some of you.

I was born in the early 80s in Hong Kong, and I remember, I got my first ATM card before I was even 16, thru Hang Seng Bank, which was already part of HSBC. Back then, because China was still closed, and Union Pay didn't exist, so my ATM card had GlobalAccess (which is the HSBC ATM network) and Plus System logos printed on the back. I was like 'wow, I could go overseas with this'. (This is no longer the case, and banks in Hong Kong are now mostly using UnionPay from China)

I changed to Standard Chartered later on, got an ATM card from them with Cirrus and Maestro logos on the back. I came to Australia in the early 90s for a holiday, and saw all the shops with Commonwealth Bank stickers stuck to the doors, with logos of Bankcard (of course), and also MasterCard and Maestro. I thought "Wow, Maestro logo on all the shop fronts, I have this logo on my card, I could walk into these stores and swipe my Standard Chartered card and buy stuffs. This is pretty amazing".

Hence, I never really understood the thing with travellers' cheques, as even when I relocated to Australia in the early 90s, it was just paying cash and sticking my ATM card from Hong Kong into a dodgy ATM. Living on the Northern Beaches back then (yeah, insular peninsula), I never saw a place which would cash travellers checks.

Mind you, ATMs in the 80s in Hong Kong already had proper CRT monitors, so when I first came to Australia and saw those ATMs with the tiny thing which you needed to peek into, like looking into a binocular, and look at the orange lights inside, at first, I didn't even know how to use them, then after I figured out how to use them, I was like "What the earth is this antique!".

Of course, I have been to this one place where cash is the only option for us - DPRK (or what you call North Korea)! (And I have written 2 trip reports heres for my 2 journeys there )

I was travelling in the early 80s and I wasn't young then

 

[Lynda2475]

I doubt many were travelling internationally with only cards in the 80s. In the 80s most CC transactions were done using those carbon copy sliders which took an imprint of the merchants details and your card.

Im not sure about on the Insular Peninsula (as its not really a major tourist area) but I can confirm that hotels and major stores in the Sydney CBD were still accepting Travellers Cheques as late as Jan 1997. I worked at the flagship Dymocks store and would probably process 2-3 TCs a week mainly from tourists buying up Aussie Calendars or Books to take back home. We had to stamp the back and record passport details on them before processing in the register.

The last time I travelled with Traveler's Cheque was 2002 and it was a small back-up amount in Euros because I had fee free debit and credit cards and some cash. By this time it was getting harder to use and I remember schlepping to the AmEx office in Paris to cash some as fewer places were accepting them outright.

The last time I converted any AUD to foreign currency (as opposed to just using card or ATM on arrival) was 2015 and that was only because i needed CAD to change to CUC in Cuba where Aussie issued ATM cards arent accepted due to financial sanctions.

 

[p--and--t]

I was travelling in the early 80s and I wasn't young then

Ditto.

Born in 80s - still a chick rather than Chicken haha

 

[Chicken]

I doubt many were travelling internationally with only cards in the 80s. In the 80s most CC transactions were done using those carbon copy sliders

The click-clack machine. Yes, in the 80s, but I think they started to disappear by the early 90s.

Back on topic. I know that you would still need cash in Hong Kong, for some small independent stores, and you would need cash to top up your Octopus card being a tourist (locals could top up using by linking it to their Hong Kong bank accounts). You cannot top up using a credit card (at machine or 7-11)

 

[VPS]

The click-clack machine. Yes, in the 80s, but I think they started to disappear by the early 90s.

Back on topic. I know that you would still need cash in Hong Kong, for some small independent stores, and you would need cash to top up your Octopus card being a tourist (locals could top up using by linking it to their Hong Kong bank accounts). You cannot top up using a credit card (at machine or 7-11)

There is one place in Adelaide who still has a click clack machine