Cash or Card? Countries where you still need cash.

[Pete98765432]

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)

You can add your Octopus card to Apple wallet on iPhone and top up using Apple Pay. Not sure about Android.

 

[Chicken]

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

Where?
My cards from Citi and Suncorp and Australian Mutual Bank don't even have the details embossed anymore.

You can add your Octopus card to Apple wallet on iPhone and top up using Apple Pay. Not sure about Android.

No credit card surcharge?

 

[Pete98765432]

Where?
My cards from Citi and Suncorp and Australian Mutual Bank don't even have the details embossed anymore.


No credit card surcharge?

I added my physical card to wallet in preparation for a trip there but hadn’t tried to top it up. I just tried and it failed because I don’t have an eligible payment card in wallet. Seems foreign cards aren’t accepted

 

[VPS]

Where?
My cards from Citi and Suncorp and Australian Mutual Bank don't even have the details embossed anymore.


No credit card surcharge?

It's a Moroccan restaurant in one of the side streets - in the end he couldn't use it - said his other machine was broken and wanted us to pay cash. I didn't have any cash so had to do a bank transfer. Won't be going back

 

[Thibault]

No credit card surcharge?

I got dinged on my CBA's Ultimate for a cash advance fee with Octopus on Mobile.

Went all ok with my French credit card and no fees as expected with Macquarie Debit.

The Octopus is great on mobile, ensure to top up more than the actual fare to ensure you can continue your trip if you take the Airport Express + then the MTR as the full fare is debited upon exit at HKG Station.



I had to top up the card again mid-way to continue my journey (as a return fare for Airport is 'free' for a same-day trip, but only 'refunded' at the end of the day in the available funds on Octopus).

See :

MTR > Privileges and Complimentary Services

www.mtr.com.hk

At the end of the day - I indeed got 'refunded' the extra value I've charged on the card and I then requested a refund from Octopus, got it in less than 24hrs via Macquarie.

Post automatically merged: Oct 21, 2024

I added my physical card to wallet in preparation for a trip there but hadn’t tried to top it up. I just tried and it failed because I don’t have an eligible payment card in wallet. Seems foreign cards aren’t accepted

Have you used the Octopus for Tourist App?

The Tourist App is designed for international debit and credit cards.
The original Octopus App works only with HK and Mainland debit/credit cards.

 

[Pete98765432]

Have you used the Octopus for Tourist App?

The Tourist App is designed for international debit and credit cards.
The original Octopus App works only with HK and Mainland debit/credit cards.

No. Thanks for this, I’ll try it out.

 

[Tiki]

Ah the good old days when I backpacked around Europe and Asia with Amex travelers checks, collected letters from home at Amex and Poste Restante. Never booked anything in advance, just rocked up to the recommended hostels in Lonely Planet.

Chile only needed cash for small handicraft sellers, toilets at bus stations. Uber is super cheap so didn't use city buses.

 

[VPS]

Ah the good old days when I backpacked around Europe and Asia with Amex travelers checks, collected letters from home at Amex and Poste Restante. Never booked anything in advance, just rocked up to the recommended hostels in Lonely Planet.

Chile only needed cash for small handicraft sellers, toilets at bus stations. Uber is super cheap so didn't use city buses.

Oh yes I remember going to the Amex offices in Haymarket in London to collect my letters

 

[OZDUCK]

In 1976 we had some Travellers Checks stolen when we staying at someones house.

The police had arrested and charged the miscreant before we even knew they were missing. His attempts to forge my signature was risible. Replacement ones were issued immediately.

 

[VPS]

I lost some travellers cheques in the NYC bus station in 1983 and didn't realise until I got to Boston. I met some Aussies who had hired a car and were going out to watch the final of the America's cup but because it was a weekend I couldn't get them replaced and didn't have enough money to go - still mad about that

 

[pagingjoan]

40 years on! And a good memory still.

 

[OZDUCK]

You definitely need cash to eat at most of the places we have used in Singapore. Those that have card payment mostly only accept the local NETS card. One did take MasterCard but there would have been a surcharge bigger than in Oz.

 

[RealtimeY]

That's quite surprising - I don't think I've ever run into a merchant in Singapore that takes local card but not Visa/MC. Are you referring to the local SG QR payment system? With the (major) exception of hawkers or other small vendors, I think you can basically go cashless in Singapore, and it's quite common to "payWave" purchases of any size.

 

[Lynda2475]

I was able to spent 4 days in Singapore without any cash, I had no issue using my debit card at the hawker stores I visited, paying for food tour, linking to grab for transport or at the hotel and fine dining restaurants.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Back on topic. I know that you would still need cash in Hong Kong, for some small independent stores

Yes, @Chicken for taxis too, and a couple of Noodle places we went to last year.

 

[CaptJCool]

It's a Moroccan restaurant in one of the side streets - in the end he couldn't use it - said his other machine was broken and wanted us to pay cash. I didn't have any cash so had to do a bank transfer. Won't be going back

Sounds like they imported the cash in restaurants in Morocco into Adelaide
My recent experience was mixed
Coffee shops had card facilities
Many of the restaurants did
However the small traders monkey handlers and snake charmers definitely preferred cash as did the first RIAD we stayed at which despite saying we could card it, in the morning we departed the new guy disavowed any knowledge of the card option
Furiously I paid cash and so that left no tip for the staff which annoyed me immensely

Train & tram tics could be bought with tap and go at the stations

 

[OZDUCK]

Maybe we have just been unlucky.

 

[frodo]

But T Money and Cashbee (for public transport and buying things at convenient stores) can only be loaded using cash.

I made this mistake last year. Thought I would just land at ICN and withdraw cash from the ATM like I do in most other countries.

However, it was a late night arrival and by the time I was through immigration, it was close to 11pm.

When I got to the train station I found that you could not use contactless payments to pay for the train and that the T-money card could only be purchased with cash, not card.

I backtracked towards the terminal and found the ATMs that took international cards - but little did I know that the ATMs closed at 11pm (similar to countries like Japan where ATMs are not open 24 hours). By the time I found one, it was past 11pm and I had no way of withdrawing cash (apart from using the money exchangers at the airport as a last resort).

In the end I ended up taking the night bus/limousine which you could buy a ticket using card payment.

Probably a lack of research on my part, but also absolutely crazy in this day and age from a country that I thought I would have no problem arriving into without cash (and where I had no need for cash other than to buy/top-up the T-money card).

 

[MARTINE]

Oh yes I remember going to the Amex offices in Haymarket in London to collect my letters

…..And I used to tear out the book chapter in the guide once I left that country to ‘lighten’ the load

 

[Duffa]

Just been caught out in a pub in Bavaria. Cash only.
Luckily, I had a few Euros in my manbag.