Cash or Card Preferred?
 

I am travelling to Singapore next week and am thinking about money matters.

Is cash preferred or are most places like restaurants and tourist attractions happy with cards? It would be a MasterCard so nothing obscure.

Many thanks in advance.

You will be fine with a MasterCard or any other major credit card.

Singapore is one of the most advanced countries when it comes to payment platforms (for example, contactless payments per capita here are among the highest in the world).

It would be a good idea to have cash on hand for taxis (they accept credit cards, but with a surcharge as in many other countries) and incidentals. You can use a credit card for nearly everything, however.

Thank you crazycrab955, much appreciated.

I wouldn't count on being able to use a credit card in a hawker center, although I can't remember trying. The amounts are likely to be very small.

You need both.

Larger establishments, stores, restaurants, etc. take cards no problem. Taxi drivers will take, but make sure before you enter the taxi. There's a surcharge to use a card for a taxi (12% as I recall?) and drivers strongly prefer cash, because they wait quite a while for card settlements to be paid.

Smaller establishments, hawkers, etc. are cash only.

Yes, Singapore is mostly "cards", but not everywhere. Also, some services you'll use (like taxis), while taking credit cards, are charging extra for it. You can charge an ezlink card and pay with that. But Hawker centers and a few other smaller stores might prefer (or only) cash nevertheless.

Get some S$. You'll make your life easier that way. And SGD is a mature currency, if you don't spend it all, highly unlikely it will lose much value, you can just keep it for next time.

Yep, get some S$. There are still many places who prefer cash, especially hawker centers.

Cash is really only needed at hawker centres, small restaurants (those without AC) and small corner shops.

So yes, a small amount of cash is needed.

I find this question funny. Personally I don't care what the merchant prefers - I use my credit cards on every possible occasion so as to get points and zero forex fees. Singapore is a major modern city so credit cards are accepted almost everywhere except as noted below.

My experience as well. I was easily able to survive on USD $100 for a week, though I don't take too many taxis.

You and me alike! Get those points!!!!!!

And quite a good number of smaller operators in Singapore will just refuse you service if they are in the mood to do so, even if they officially accept CCs. If a taxi driver is in need of hard cash, he will declare his CC equipment out of order, all the more reason to be absolutely clear before entering the tazi that they are taking CCs. And hawker stalls just don't accept CCs. To time consuming and they don't want to pay fees.

What I've seen at number of hawker centers (higher end after recent remodeling) they started accepting NETS FP, but it is still unpopular with merchants, they claim that system 'does not work'. FP mostly irrelevant for tourists and people visiting short term, because loading FP card would require trip to MRT station and using machine there.

Also there was an article saying that at one hawker center now it is trail of payment using QR codes, but that payment system requires current account at local bank to make payment, so it is NETS's extension. Again, irrelevant to tourists.

TL;DR - if you want to enjoy hawker food - get cash. Also, if you get into Comfort/Premier taxis - ask them before getting in if credit card is OK.