Do I Need Cash?

[ARandomTraveler]

I'm headed out on a cruise that leaves from Singapore, stops in Nha Trang Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan  and Japan.

 

 

I'll be spending several days in Singapore before the cruise, and a couple weeks in Japan at the end. I know Singapore and Japan are really good about accepting digital payments, so using Apple pay and credit cards will be my primary method of payment. 
 

However, I'm not sure about Vietnam, Hong Kong and Taiwan. I'm also not sure if there are instances in Singapore or Japan where cash would be preferred or necessary (like food stalls and taxis etc). 
 

I'll bring US dollars onto the ship for tips, but should I bring additional US dollars to exchange for local currency at any of the other places? 

[BruceMuzz]

You will be surprised to learn that US Dollars are not accepted in Japan.

 

You may be even more surprised to learn that credit cards - even though everyone has them - are not accepted in many areas in Japan. Even Japanese businesses that do accept credit cards may not accept credit cards issued by banks outside Japan.

 

Currently in Japan the dollar / yen exchange rate is very favorable for US Dollars. Once in Japan, you will find it very difficult to locate somewhere to change US Dollars to Yen. Of course you can change money at the airport or at your hotel - at a very poor exchange rate.

 

The best way to obtain Japanese Yen in Japan is at an ATM at one of the thousands of "Kombini" (convenience stores; 7-11, Family Mart, etc) that remain open 24/7.

[loeb]

As a starting point when going to a new port / area I look at WhatsInPort, see the link to Singapore under currency

 

https://www.whatsinport.com/Singapore.htm

 

To do further research check Trip Advisor and also Youtube.

[Philob]

The younger generation in Hong Kong switched to app payments. Credit cards a widely accepted but some merchants will tack on the swipe fee. Get HK cash from ATMs for the that trinket you're buying from a street stall lady...and she'll probably prefer WeChatPay over Apple Pay.

[terry&mike]

In Vietnam, having local Vietnamese Dong will be very helpful. It's great for tipping, small purchases, street vendors, some taxis. And if you are on a HaLong Bay cruise, great for buying items from the boat ladies who paddle up next to the barges.

[shaycamp21]

We are on the same cruise as well. Wondering if there are ATM’s in every port (Nha Trang, Hong Kong, Keelung, Kobe, Shimizu) to get local currency from? We are Canadian so I am sure our dollar would be difficult to exchange anyway. We were asked to pay for one excursion with a local tour company in Vietnam with US $ in cash but would also like to have Vietnamese Dongs too. 

[Philob]

There are no ATMs in the HK Kai Tak Cruise Terminal only a money exchange booth. Outside just about every MTR station and shopping mall will have some. But there's a saying, "When you don't need IT, you see IT everywhere. When you need IT, you can't find IT anywhere." 

Edited July 13, 2023 by Philob

[floridatravelersforlife]

On 7/8/2023 at 9:31 PM, BruceMuzz said:

You will be surprised to learn that US Dollars are not accepted in Japan.

 

You may be even more surprised to learn that credit cards - even though everyone has them - are not accepted in many areas in Japan. Even Japanese businesses that do accept credit cards may not accept credit cards issued by banks outside Japan.

 

Currently in Japan the dollar / yen exchange rate is very favorable for US Dollars. Once in Japan, you will find it very difficult to locate somewhere to change US Dollars to Yen. Of course you can change money at the airport or at your hotel - at a very poor exchange rate.

 

The best way to obtain Japanese Yen in Japan is at an ATM at one of the thousands of "Kombini" (convenience stores; 7-11, Family Mart, etc) that remain open 24/7.

For a tourist,  what denominations of Japanese Currency are the best to have in you pocket. Paper? Coins? We will be using Taxis, buying Street Food, Admission Tickets,  We plan to have  Suica Cards.  I assume 10K notes and 5 yen coins are not used much.  I plan to buy currency from my Regional Bank in the States

Edited July 14, 2023 by floridatravelersforlife
incomplete sentence

[ARandomTraveler]

Well shoot - I better get on top of this and figure out if I can exchange some dollars here at home before I leave. I'm pretty sure my bank charges a hefty International ATM fee, and my credit card company charges a fee for "cash advances" which is what it would be to take out money from an atm (if that's even possible). 
 

I've read posts from people saying they've gotten foreign currency from their local AAA. I have one near me so I'll check there tomorrow and see what they say. I leave in 8 days so I might be too late.

 

Thank you to everyone for your replies.

Edited July 18, 2023 by ARandomTraveler

[diesel1973]

Before I travel I get about $200 in the currency of the foreign country at my local bank for incidentals. I learned that the exchanges at the airport don't have the best exchange rates. 

[terry&mike]

13 hours ago, diesel1973 said:

Before I travel I get about $200 in the currency of the foreign country at my local bank for incidentals. I learned that the exchanges at the airport don't have the best exchange rates. 

I always do the same. 

[BruceMuzz]

On 7/18/2023 at 5:40 AM, ARandomTraveler said:

Well shoot - I better get on top of this and figure out if I can exchange some dollars here at home before I leave. I'm pretty sure my bank charges a hefty International ATM fee, and my credit card company charges a fee for "cash advances" which is what it would be to take out money from an atm (if that's even possible). 
 

I've read posts from people saying they've gotten foreign currency from their local AAA. I have one near me so I'll check there tomorrow and see what they say. I leave in 8 days so I might be too late.

 

Thank you to everyone for your replies.

All Japanese Airports have ATMs in the arrival halls.

You can get Yen there at a very good exchange rate.

[ARandomTraveler]

I did find out that you can order foreign currency from AAA (no fees charged if you're a member), but they need 3-5 business days to ship it. You can also order it from your bank (but mine needed a week to deliver it). Work got really busy for me and I didn't check into either of those options until I was cutting it too close to the deadline so I didn't bother. I'll try the ATM option if needed.

[floralscent]

We will carry cash and likely get it at the airport. Sounds like ATM is the way to go for exchange rates. Should we let our bank know (small bank) that we are going out if the country, for debit card use in ATM?

 

 

[shecritic]

Notifying your bank about your travel plans helps them monitor your account for any suspicious activity and ensures that your card isn't flagged for potential fraud when used in a foreign country.

[ARandomTraveler]

On 8/2/2023 at 5:47 AM, floralscent said:

We will carry cash and likely get it at the airport. Sounds like ATM is the way to go for exchange rates. Should we let our bank know (small bank) that we are going out if the country, for debit card use in ATM?

 

 

You probably should, just in case. I've had a hard time logging into my bank from here (in fact I haven't been able to log into either of my banks), and I'm wondering if the login website is blocked from being accessed from this part of the world as a security measure. 
 

We're currently in Hong Kong and found that it would have been nice to have some Hong Kong dollars here as well. Smaller trinket type stores don't take credit cards, only cash, and most of them (so far) only take Hong Kong dollars. We haven't been to any of the more modern places downtown yet, those probably take credit cards.

 

Not having local currency has at least saved me money because I've bought way less stuff than I would have otherwise. 

[hawkesbaynz]

We are travelling to Japan in the Spring and I have already purchased some money online delivered to home to get us started. Used a comparison site to find out who was the cheapest as it was certainly not my local bank. Our Toursbylocals guide has advised us that taxis etc need local currency.

 

When travelling I always use credit cards that do not charge fees. Therefore leave the reward Amex and Barclaycard in the safe and use CC/DC that charge the interbank rate to exchange. Always take a couple too as have lost them on previous trips (the ATMs do not beep in Chile).

 

In the UK we have a fair few options for fee free credit and debit cards. I am sure there are fee free options in USA/Can too.

 

For the benefit of UK readers

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money/