Discussion
Has this been covered before.
In recent times I went to Tromso and Bucharest so each time bought a couple of hundred quids worth of the local currencies for incidentals. And bought most of it back.
So last week for Sofia I took zero local currency, reasoning that I could use an ATM is I got stuck. But I didn't. The whole trip involved zero contact with the local banknotes and coins.
And added advantage is that all the money spent was on Clarity, getting the best possible bank rate.
Is there anywhere (except extreme locations) where this is now not the case?
In recent times I went to Tromso and Bucharest so each time bought a couple of hundred quids worth of the local currencies for incidentals. And bought most of it back.
So last week for Sofia I took zero local currency, reasoning that I could use an ATM is I got stuck. But I didn't. The whole trip involved zero contact with the local banknotes and coins.
And added advantage is that all the money spent was on Clarity, getting the best possible bank rate.
Is there anywhere (except extreme locations) where this is now not the case?
I travel a lot for work (at least 50 - 60 trips a year), and hardly ever take out any cash. There are a few countries in Asia and Africa where you need cash for taxis but not all that many.
Oddly its manly the US where I do hold cash, as you need some for the incessant tipping culture.
Oddly its manly the US where I do hold cash, as you need some for the incessant tipping culture.
The Post Office now do pre loaded debit cards for a lot of currencies.
https://www.postoffice.co.uk/travel-money/card?cam...
https://www.postoffice.co.uk/travel-money/card?cam...
In places like Sweden, it's common to find that cash isn't accepted.
I travel a lot for work too and it must have been pre-Covid since I changed money before I went somewhere and have a drawer that resembles something Jason Bourne would have with piles of notes of different currencies that I'll probably never use.
You mention 'extreme places'.... A few years back, I did a week long project in Sierra Leone; the 25th poorest nation on earth at the time. Even there, cash is a dwindling thing. All bars and shops and restaurants take cards. This is a good thing as one bottle of local Star Beer requires a bundle of cash that measures about 6" high. I know this because we measured it one night!
I travel a lot for work too and it must have been pre-Covid since I changed money before I went somewhere and have a drawer that resembles something Jason Bourne would have with piles of notes of different currencies that I'll probably never use.
You mention 'extreme places'.... A few years back, I did a week long project in Sierra Leone; the 25th poorest nation on earth at the time. Even there, cash is a dwindling thing. All bars and shops and restaurants take cards. This is a good thing as one bottle of local Star Beer requires a bundle of cash that measures about 6" high. I know this because we measured it one night!
StevieBee said:
You mention 'extreme places'.... A few years back, I did a week long project in Sierra Leone; the 25th poorest nation on earth at the time. Even there, cash is a dwindling thing. All bars and shops and restaurants take cards. This is a good thing as one bottle of local Star Beer requires a bundle of cash that measures about 6" high. I know this because we measured it one night!
I remember seeing a documentary where the currency was so bad in one country that they gave up counting it and went by the weight of the bricks of cash.It might have been Venezuela
Last year Mrs L & I did a road trip, Austria/Slovakia/Hungary/Croatia/Slovenia.
In quite a few places you needed coins to get in to the loos. One or two also had card machines, though one didn't work - we were very thankful to the lorry driver who used some sort of passcard to let us through.
A few notes, if only to pay for coffees and obtain change, is usually a good idea.
In quite a few places you needed coins to get in to the loos. One or two also had card machines, though one didn't work - we were very thankful to the lorry driver who used some sort of passcard to let us through.
A few notes, if only to pay for coffees and obtain change, is usually a good idea.
Jonathan27 said:
I travel a lot for work (at least 50 - 60 trips a year), and hardly ever take out any cash. There are a few countries in Asia and Africa where you need cash for taxis but not all that many.
Oddly its manly the US where I do hold cash, as you need some for the incessant tipping culture.
Hong Kong taxi often only cash Oddly its manly the US where I do hold cash, as you need some for the incessant tipping culture.
Cotty said:
I understand that America is quite behind on contactless payments.
A small part of that might be their tipping culture.
Not in my experience. I've just spent 5 weeks there and the only cash I used was $20 and that was for 4 lots of laundry in hotels where the machines/dryers only take quarter coins.A small part of that might be their tipping culture.
Most, if not all card machines are set up to prompt you to add a tip.
Cotty said:
I understand that America is quite behind on contactless payments.
A small part of that might be their tipping culture.
They've got their act together and contactless seem to be available most places now.A small part of that might be their tipping culture.
The main quirk is when a restaurant/bar swipes the card, prints a receipt and you write the tip on the receipt in pen. Sometimes the machine insists on a second PIN entering, so you need to wait for them to process it before running out the door.
The only cash tips I left is when I was getting free drinks in Vegas, so there was no 'bill' to pay.
Whilst you can use credit cards in Argentina, it used to be a complete rip off compared to cash. Because the official govt rate was AR$450 to the pound but on the street you could get AR$1000 cash to the pound. So a meal costing AR$9000 would cost you £20 on a card, but £9 in cash.
The difference between the two is now much less but it's still better value to change up for AR$ cash on the street.
The difference between the two is now much less but it's still better value to change up for AR$ cash on the street.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Whilst you can use credit cards in Argentina, it used to be a complete rip off compared to cash. Because the official govt rate was AR$450 to the pound but on the street you could get AR$1000 cash to the pound. So a meal costing AR$9000 would cost you £20 on a card, but £9 in cash.
The difference between the two is now much less but it's still better value to change up for AR$ cash on the street.
I went to Argentina in Jan/Feb. I didn't bother with cash and used Apple Pay everywhere. It's so much easier than finding backstreet places to get cash and carrying large quantities of it around, then potentially getting stuck with currency you can't easily change to anything useful at the end of the trip. I perhaps paid slightly more for a lot of things, but the convenience was well worth it. I used some USD for a couple of times I needed cash as I always have USD cash. The whole internet is packed full of people making statements about Argentina and cash that are outdated (as you say).The difference between the two is now much less but it's still better value to change up for AR$ cash on the street.
Tagteam said:
Jonathan27 said:
I travel a lot for work (at least 50 - 60 trips a year), and hardly ever take out any cash. There are a few countries in Asia and Africa where you need cash for taxis but not all that many.
Oddly its manly the US where I do hold cash, as you need some for the incessant tipping culture.
Hong Kong taxi often only cash Oddly its manly the US where I do hold cash, as you need some for the incessant tipping culture.
4Q said:
Germany can be cash only in many places, particularly bar’s & restaurants, although it’s much better than it used to be
Came to say this - Germany still quite cash heavy.Where we are in Spain still often needs a few Euro in cash, but more tourist heavy places less so. Still always carry a few notes around to avoid getting caught out.
Mrs E and me spent some time in Japan and S Korea late last year - whilst we could use cards for certain things (mainly pre-loaded Post Office card) we would have struggled without cash in both countries, esp for vending machines, local public transport, markets, street food, etc, etc.
The Real Bruce said:
Is there anywhere (except extreme locations) where this is now not the case?
I find it variable, but it depends partly on how you're travelling. If you're in a car you can probably drive hundreds of miles to where you can use contactless. If you're walking somewhere rural, it may be a different story.Maybe rural Oman counts as extreme, but I found they would often only take cash and it was nearly impossible to find an ATM. Mind you, in Iraq the ATMs kept eating my cards and at one of the machines they tried telling me my card wasn't in it when I knew it was, I had a gun pointed at me after insisting my card was in it, just before it turned up. That probably is extreme.
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff