Paying: foreign cards, cash and the small places

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Whether an overseas card goes through can depend on the place and the terminal, and some small counters still want cash. Here is how to avoid being caught out, whichever way you plan to pay.

Reviewed 2026-09-27 · Updated 2026-09-28 · Written from the public sources listed below

Cards

Whether a particular place takes an overseas card is something to check rather than assume. If you are not sure, ask before the service rather than after, and carry a second way to pay.

Where cash comes up

Small owner run places may prefer cash, and so may the small counters inside a bathhouse. The body scrub counter is the classic case: most bathhouses take payment for the scrub in cash, up front. Carrying a modest amount of cash removes the problem.

Cash machines

ATMs that accept foreign cards are common and are marked with a Global sign or the logos of the card networks they accept, and most offer English. Not every machine takes foreign cards, so if one refuses your card, try one with the Global sign. Machines in convenience stores often charge higher fees.

Prepaid and transit

A prepaid card aimed at visitors, loaded at an exchange kiosk, a subway station or a convenience store, can pay for goods and services and doubles as your transit card. Transit can also be paid from a phone with a mobile transit card app. Either one is a useful backup to your own card.

What we show you

Whether a venue took a foreign card is a fact we collect per venue and date, so the details screen may say confirmed, not accepted, or not confirmed yet.