Trying to figure out if buses and metros in Sri Lanka take cards or if Ill need small cash. Any recent experiences?
In March I took buses from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya and absolutely no card payments. I even asked a conductor to try my Visa but he laughed. He said only bus card trials are happening on expressway buses and only some private ones. Metro doesn’t exist outside the airport line and that one is prepaid card only. So for day‑to‑day travel have local rupees. LankaQR is great for cafes and entry tickets though.
I used public transport around Galle and Colombo recently. No card tap at all on buses or trains. At one private bus company they showed me a smart‑card machine but said it’s only being tested on a few routes. On my phone I pay with LankaQR for food and small shops but transit is still offline. Withdraw around 1000 to 2000 rupees in small notes and you’ll be covered for a day or two if you’re using buses and tuk‑tuks.
riends working in Sri Lanka mentioned that the national transport commission is working on EMV‑enabled payment devices for buses across the country but it's not operational yet on most routes. I tried tapping my Mastercard on a few buses in Colombo and nothing happened. Better to keep cash for bus fares. For taxis and big tourist areas you can pay via QR using LankaQR.
I was in Colombo and Kandy last month and pretty much all buses were cash only. Even the private long-distance coaches want exact rupees. I asked about using debit card or phone at a few ticket counters and they said the rollout of EMV cards on buses is still in trial phase so not widely available. Trains are the same cash at station counters. I always carried about 500 LKR in small notes.