Cash or Card? Countries where you still need cash.

[Flashback]

Senegal, cash definitely required.

 

[elanshin]

Surprisingly we needed cash in Vienna... Lots of 50c euro toilets.

 

[Chicken]

Surprisingly we needed cash in Vienna... Lots of 50c euro toilets.

And basically the whole eastern Europe. If you want to use the toilet, you need
- 0,5 € or equivalent, try to have exact change.
- If you are a dude, let grandma watch you pee.
Compulsory requirements to use public toilet

 

[clifford]

- If you are a dude, let grandma watch you pee.

Just go with the flow....

 

[elanshin]

And basically the whole eastern Europe. If you want to use the toilet, you need
- 0,5 € or equivalent, try to have exact change.
- If you are a dude, let grandma watch you pee.
Compulsory requirements to use public toilet

I think its just going from Prague (where this is not a thing) to Vienna (where this is the norm) caught me off guard given their distance and their status as better off countries/cities in the area.

I would expect it more east of Austria but oh well. Oh and you need it in Christmas markets.

 

[anemone1296]

We are off to Vietnam and now have Wise in my Apple wallet
In fact I see 2 “cards” and both say they are visa
One is plain green and the other is”multicolour green”
How useful are these in Vietnam (HCMC, Phu Quoc and Hanoi) ?
Are they accepted ?
Must I have a physical card ? - I do possess a physical plain green one

Plain green = copy of physical card
Multicolourd green = digital only card
All worked for me in HCMC
I like that you can freeze and unfreeze them in the app, just take into account internet connectivity should you need to do so quickly

 

[Ansett Nostalgic]

I think its just going from Prague (where this is not a thing) to Vienna (where this is the norm) caught me off guard given their distance and their status as better off countries/cities in the area.

I would expect it more east of Austria but oh well. Oh and you need it in Christmas markets.

Are the Christmas markets in Germany very cash based?

 

[OZDUCK]

Are the Christmas markets in Germany very cash based?

You will definitely need some cash but a lot of the stalls do accept card - at least that it what is was like in 2023.

 

[Flashback]

Are the Christmas markets in Germany very cash based?

Yes.

 

[CaptJCool]

Surprisingly we needed cash in Vienna... Lots of 50c euro toilets.

Same in Réunion

It’s French l

Generally
South Africa Réunion and Mauritius were lots of credit cards
But cash
And the taxi scam alive and well at Cape Town airport

 

[SYD]

Cambodia seems to be generally CC friendly (at least in Phnom Phen and Siem Reap) but still many places are cash only. So have USD handy - preferably small denominations to pay the correct amount or you’ll get change in Real.

I believe ATMs have high fees, so bring cash.

Speaking of high ATM fees. We passed through Thailand and already knew about the extortionate fees there and still the need for cash. Turns out the old school money changers are actually quite decent value compared to going to an ATM.

The Yellow stall “TT” seemed to be the best and you could easily change AUD from as lows as A$5 up to A$100 notes and multiples there of.

 

[Flashback]

Cambodia seems to be generally CC friendly (at least in Phnom Phen and Siem Reap) but still many places are cash only. So have USD handy - preferably small denominations to pay the correct amount or you’ll get change in Real.

I believe ATMs have high fees, so bring cash.

Speaking of high ATM fees. We passed through Thailand and already knew about the extortionate fees there and still the need for cash. Turns out the old school money changers are actually quite decent value compared to going to an ATM.

The Yellow stall “TT” seemed to be the best and you could easily change AUD from as lows as A$5 up to A$100 notes and multiples there of.

When I was in Cambodia 2 years ago, there was one bank that worked fee free for me - Vattanac Bank.

 

[AuSammy]

Data point. 5 weeks of travelling Switzerland, France, Italy, Malta - we used a total of €20 in cash for laundromat and toilets. BTW: there were laundromats that took card that we could have used if we walked a couple 100m more.


All other purchases made using phone; bar a couple of instances used physical card.

Purchases in hotels, restaurants, cafes, service stations, takeaway joints, railway stations, airports, supermarkets, massage places, and the like.

NB: We rarely shop at street markets or the like.