Originally Posted by Cryofern

This sort of gets at something that I find is somewhat incomplete when somebody expresses the opinion that WeChat and Alipay are much better than the way some other place handles payments: sure, it's possibly true from a technological/coolness perspective, but from an economic perspective, WeChat and Alipay are still cash: if I decide to use them, I'll inevitably have some left over at the end of a trip, in exactly the same way as the scenario DMSFCA presented. Credit cards, on the other hand, only involve the transaction amount, and furthermore have a nice grace period where I get (admittedly not much) interest on the amount sitting in whatever account. (yeah sorry, I'm arguing credit cards versus everything, not one country's payment technologies versus another country's )

So actually, for comedic purposes, let me suggest a hypothetical scenario where Octopus is actually better than WeChat/Alipay: it's a nice little plastic card, so you can leave your phone in your hotel safe and not worry about unfortunate drunk texts or, you know, phone theft.

Originally Posted by travelinmanS

I find the situation in HK in regards to payments incredibly frustrating and backwards when compared to their neighbors to the north. Even before Alipay/wechat pay the mainland was much more advanced with everywhere accepting Union Pay. HK is like a return to 20 years ago with cash being king and a random acceptance of various cards. I’ve been to places that take visa and master but no Union Pay or Amex. Some places are cash only but will accept Ali/wechat pay which a foreigner can’t use outside of the mainland.

It will all eventually work out for you but I’d advise against exchanging any money in your departure country and either exchange on arrival or preferably use a no fee atm to withdraw. I understand that certain countries have no banks offering this no fee or fee refund atm card option but for travelers from the USA there is really no excuse not to have one.

Originally Posted by DragonSoul

UnionPay belongs to the People's Bank of China, which belongs to the Chinese government. China is still ignoring the WTO in allowing Visa and Mastercard equal access to the Chinese market (13 years and counting since it 'promised' to), and only lets Visa and Mastercard issue co-branded cards, usually in partnership with UnionPay.

You can love that the Chinese government is controls its economy in this way, and that it is unfairly demanding UnionPay be accepted in other countries while blocking the same in China, but do you love the end game?

Originally Posted by moondog

If banks in the US and Europe weren't so hungry for fees and resistant to disruptive technologies that threaten their racket, I might have a little more sympathy for their woes in China. But, as long as the system in China is both more efficient and more consumer friendly, I don't really care who owns/controls it or how nicely they play with others.

Originally Posted by christep

Note also that taxis are HK$ cash only, so if you plan to use those to get around then you will need cash. ATMs are everywhere.

There are machines at the airport where you can buy an Octopus card using a credit card, but after that any top-ups need to be cash.

Originally Posted by DMSFCA

Paying down your hotel bill on the last day with all your leftover currency gets rid of all that pesky cash without taking a hit on the exchange rate. You need to get to the airport, and after that, it's all those sweet, sweet credit cards used.

Originally Posted by :D!

I know the maximum stored value is $999.9, but in 20 years of using and observing other people using Octopodes, I have never seen any card with that sort of balance...

.

Originally Posted by Chromie25

I think they have raised the max to HK$3000 last year (or even the year before).

Originally Posted by christep

Uber exists. It's illegal in the sense that drivers get arrested from time to time because they don't have private hire licences, but no passengers have been arrested so far. It's almost never cheaper than just getting a cab. And a lot more hassle and waiting, in my experience.

Grab doesn't exist here as far as I know.

Originally Posted by DragonSoul

Or the end game?

Originally Posted by christep

I'm a bit old-fashioned, and I just also in principle like the fact that cash transactions are untraceable. I feel very uncomfortable about there being a complete digital record of every thing I do. I understand that millenials don't, in general, give a damn about this, but until us oldies die off I think there will always be a niche for cash.