Currency question

[donnad]

Hi. For places like Singapore, Manado, Ambon,Sorong ……do taxi drivers accept US currency for the trip and for tips? What about restaurants and shopping? Trying to figure out how much cash to bring. We like to use a credit card for most things of course. Thanks for your guidance.

 

[jborg]

They will most likely take USD in the same manner a US taxi driver would take Singapore Dollars or Indonesian Rupiah -- that is, not at all. In Singapore you can just use a credit card, most everything is tap-to-pay except the smallest food stalls. Indonesia I'm not sure about, but I suspect you'd need local currency.

 

[Searcaigh]

Carry IDR when in Indonesia, don't be put off by all the 000s

Singapore is very CC friendly, usual precautions required though, scammers everywhere these days.

 

[rmorgan]

Throughout Indonesia, there are many ATMs which dispense IDR. You can be an IDR millionaire for 60 USD. In Sorong, we paid about 200000 IDR ($12) for 15-20 minute taxi rides, arranged by our hotel.

 

[CF L]

Singapore has no tipping culture so it is not necessary to tip. Credit card payment of taxi fare will incur surcharge and not all drivers will have the means to accept it so do check before starting your journey. Only Singapore dollars are accepted in Singapore.

Although credit cards are widely accepted in shops and restaurants many small shops, food courts and hawker centers only accept cash or cards issued by local banks.

 

[donnad]

Singapore has no tipping culture so it is not necessary to tip. Credit card payment of taxi fare will incur surcharge and not all drivers will have the means to accept it so do check before starting your journey. Only Singapore dollars are accepted in Singapore.

Although credit cards are widely accepted in shops and restaurants many small shops, food courts and hawker centers only accept cash or cards issued by local banks.

Ok. Thank you very much!

 

[DunningKruger]

do taxi drivers accept US currency

I was in Singapore two weeks ago and ran into a situation where the taxi driver wouldn't take credit cards and I didn't have any cash. My mistake for not verifying, first. But I was surprised.

I had a long layover and decided to go down to the Marina Bay Sands and the Gardens by the Bay for lunch and a walk before flying out.

The taxi driver insisted he could only accept Singapore dollars and no credit cards. Fortunately, the doorman at the Marina Bay Sands stepped in and paid the taxi driver. Very nice, friendly guy. He said it happens frequently. I subsequently went to the ATM by the casino and came back out to reimburse (and tip) the doorman.

Mine might be an isolated incident, but it would have been easily avoided if I had just taken time to check and if Ihad gotten a little cash while I was at the airport.

YMMV

 

[fantarara]

Lots of ATMs in Indonesia esp cities like Manado, Ambon,Sorong. Only in very remote rural areas you can't find atm's.

 

[Dan]

I usually bring several new $100 bills to Indonesia and exchange $200 at the money exchanger booth at the airport right outside of the customs office for expenses that require cash (taxi, bottle water, etc.). New bill without marks, fold, etc. will get better exchange rate.

 

[Wobbegong_th]

Prepare local currency for small expenses. As others had said, for Singapore, you might get by with Credit Card. An alternative is their "Ezylink" card that they use for public transport, some stores accept take inplace for cash. However, I'd been to SG for almost 10yrs, not sure if you can recharge the Ezlink card with foreign credit card now. (I can not back then)

For Indonesia, I'd been to Bali several times. some earlier trip I'd exchange from my currency (Thai Baht) to USD in Thailand, and exchange those USD to Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) when in Bali. Be mindful when you make the cash exchange though, exchange rate are not the same among various exchange booth and some dubious operator have several tricks to short-change you. Count them before leaving the exchange booth. At major establishment, such as hotels, up-scale restaurant there's no problem with credit card. However, at more 'local' places they might not accept it at all. Also, be mindful of the small notes and coins, you might not be able to change those back to USD. Try to use up your coins.

A caution as a side note, if you plan to pass through Malaysia, be careful with your credit card. Last year I'd used my credit card at 3 places on a trip in KL-Tawao-Mabul. About a month after, that card had fraudulent transactions came up and had to be replaced. Many friends of mind also had the same problem.