Will This Country Let You Buy Food?
A practical guide to how you actually pay — and how you get there
South Korea
Food payment: Credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay
Transport: Uber, KakaoTaxi, credit cards
Korea is fully modern. You can pay and move easily without cash.
Hong Kong
Food payment: Credit cards, Apple Pay, Octopus
Transport: MTR and buses take Octopus; taxis are cash only (Uber works if you want card payment)
You can live cash-light, but keep some HKD for taxis.
Thailand
Food payment: Credit cards in cities, cash for street food
Transport: Grab (rides + food), Bolt, local taxis
Bangkok and tourist cities are Grab-friendly. Cash is still needed for markets and small vendors.
Philippines
Food payment: Credit cards in malls and hotels, cash elsewhere
Transport: Grab (rides + food delivery)
Metro Manila is easy with Grab. Outside cities, expect cash.
Japan
Food payment: Cash, some cards
Transport: Cash, IC cards (Suica, Pasmo), limited ride-hailing
Japan is still heavily cash-based for food and transport.
Malaysia
Food payment: Cards in malls and restaurants, cash for hawkers
Transport: Grab
KL is very easy with Grab and cards.
Indonesia
Food payment: Cards in cafés and hotels, cash for most local food
Transport: Grab, Gojek
Delivery and rideshare work well in cities, but cash is still widely used.
Taiwan
Food payment: Mostly cash
Transport: Cash and EasyCard; Uber works
Night markets and local restaurants are cash-first.
China
Food payment: WeChat Pay, Alipay
Transport: Didi (inside Alipay)
China is a mobile-payment economy. Cash and foreign credit cards are rarely accepted in daily life.
If your Alipay or WeChat Pay isn’t working, you effectively cannot buy food — or get a ride. Hotels all seem to accept credit cards
The real takeaway
To function as a traveler, you now need three wallets:
- A credit card
- Some local cash
- The country’s dominant mobile app
And in places like China, that third one isn’t optional — it’s how you eat, move, and exist.
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