Had my Amex Platinum with me and barely got to use it. Worked at the airport duty-free and one luxury riad. That’s about it. Even big-name stores in C...

Tried paying with card in Guayaquil. Driver laughed and pointed at the meter. Definitely have cash, especially for short rides or street pickups.

For backpackers in Baños and Cuenca, Banco del Austro and Produbanco are reliable. Banco del Austro is reasonable at 4.12 USD per transaction atm fee ...

Tried to use Amex at a restaurant in Baños and they just shook their heads.

I’m a solo female traveler.... I only used ATMs in daylight, usually Banco Pichincha or Banco del Pacífico inside supermarkets. Felt much better with ...

Happened to me in Cuenca. Internacional Bank ATM froze mid-transaction and never gave my card back. I blocked it right away in my bank app and used my...

Yup they usually take Visa or Mastercard at bigger hostels. I paid with my Revolut card in Guayaquil at a hostel that looked fairly local yet still ac...

I rode the trolley buses in Quito and it’s cash only. Drivers expect you to hand them exactly 25 cents.

Happened to me in Cuenca. I accepted the conversion thinking it was safer and later saw I lost a few dollars to the ATM’s exchange rate. The screen sh...