Can I use a card to pay for taxis in Thailand, or should I carry local cash?
Can I use a card to pay for taxis in Thailand, or should I carry local cash?
Arrived at Suvarnabhumi and took an official airport taxi. The booth gave me a printed slip with driver info - great system, but still no card payment option. I had to run to an ATM to get cash. Now I preload 2000 THB on arrival, just to avoid this. You can use a card if you book a Grab or InDrive, though.
On Koh Phi Phi and Phuket, most taxis are just private drivers or songthaews. No apps, no meters, no cards. It’s all cash, and you negotiate before the ride. One guy let me pay via QR code with my Thai SIM bank app, but tourists won't usually have that setup. Moral: always carry local cash for taxis outside big cities.
Tried to pay a metered taxi with my Visa - he laughed and pointed to a “Cash Only” sign. Even at airports, most taxis expect cash. But I downloaded Bolt, which lets you link your card and pay digitally (like Grab). Worked well in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Still, I kept around 500-1000 THB cash just in case.
Can I use a card to pay for taxis in Thailand, or should I carry local cash?
Took multiple taxis in Bangkok - none of them accepted cards. Every driver wanted cash, and often exact change. But I used the Grab app a lot (Thailand’s version of Uber), and paid via card through the app. It’s more transparent and avoids haggling. So yeah, for street taxis: cash is king, but Grab = card-friendly.