Cash or Card? Countries where you still need cash.

[clifford]

I top up my Oyster card!

I just go to Tesco.

 

[SYD]

I just go to Tesco.

Not sure there’s one a LHR/LGW so I used to top up the Oyster with any leftover coins at station before heading to the airport.

Credit ready to go on return.

Haven’t done for a while since I don’t need cash in London.

 

[kpc]

Why £70? Not £50 etc?

But yep, the UK has been pretty much cashless in metro areas for years (see Post #1). Others have posted some quirky exceptions.

Had to repay £20 to a mate who gave that as a tip for me to a "free" walking tour we went on. Anyway, we sorted it with dinners etc so in the end did not spend any of the cash

 

[SYD]

Had to repay £20 to a mate who gave that as a tip for me to a "free" walking tour we went on. Anyway, we sorted it with dinners etc so in the end did not spend any of the cash

Never hurts to have a few £ or € at hand to exchange where AUD isn’t accepted.

 

[cheesesleep]

Sorry if someone’s already mentioned these but in my experience in places like South Korea and Vietnam, especially when you're trying to haggle at markets, cash still seems to be king. Most vendors are happy to knock a bit off if you're paying cash

was buying red ginseng sachets at a local market in korea and they were willing to bring down the cost by $50 if i paid in cash korean won

 

[Pele]

It seems to me in Kansai region most businesses and attractions requires you to pay cash.
So I would recommend you to buy some yens before you go there to make it sufficient for shopping, entertainment, travelling etc.

I don't agree.

 

[MajuraAscent]

In Germany a lot of places still only take cash. Some of them started accepting cards during the pandemic, but many have switched back to cash only, or they set high minimum spends for card payments.

 

[Steady]

Ndola, Zambia - cash is king. (And I suspect most of Zambia) I needed cash to purchase fuel, medicine from a chemist, a local MTN SIM card at a reasonably large mall, and from the many small shops. A Physical card was needed at quite a few places including a duty free shop airside at NLA that did take card payments - the supermarket allowed payments from my smart phone wallet as did Nando’s and Hungry Lion. The ATM I was directed to (can’t 100% remember the bank but maybe BNP?) generally allowed withdrawals of up to K30,000, but I called in on a Sunday wanting K18,000 and the limit was reduced to K12,000 so I assume the machine was getting low on cash(?)

Checking into the Pullman Delhi a fortnight ago, I didn’t have a physical card handy and pushed the issue I needed to payWave and they needed to take the payment over 3 smaller charges as the payWave limit was equivalent to a nominal maximum of around $80AUD. I was prepared today and no problem when presented a physical card.

 

[Tiki]

Solomon Islands cash is king except for Honiara, Gizo and bigger hotels in Munda.

 

[Bindibuys]

Solomon Islands cash is king except for Honiara, Gizo and bigger hotels in Munda.

Will be there next week.

 

[SYD]

It’s probably been mentioned up thread but the Baltic states are 99.99% cashless.

It’s still handy to have some cash/coins. One church in Riga wanted a coin or two to get in and a parking meter near the Russian border wouldn’t take cards due to cellular reception “issues”…so coins only.

Estonia prides itself on being a “digital” country but the further south, we were always asked “cash or card” when asking for a bill. Although the majority people seemed to be tapping,

Fortunately, we only saw DCC once (in a hotel restaurant).

 

[Flashback]

The machine at the supermarket DID say this. But the free cash offer only applies to UK bank cards. Again, you have been warned. And of course YMMV.

Not the case when I took out cash from 2x AU cards last week - using a "Free Cash" ATM (Tesco Bank) outside a Tesco supermarket.

Sainsbury ATMs which cap withdrawals at like 200 pounds and charge 4 pounds each time - better to look for machines which don't tack on the 4 pounds, especially if you wanted more than 200 pounds cash.

Can't explain that one, I've never had a Sainsbury's ATM charge anything for a withdrawl, UK card or AU card.

Not sure there’s one a LHR/LGW so I used to top up the Oyster with any leftover coins at station before heading to the airport.

Credit ready to go on return.

Haven’t done for a while since I don’t need cash in London.

There is now an M&S though.....