Best Travel Card for Asia: Cards, Cash and QR Payments

These are the providers’ own charges. Japanese ATMs can add a fee that changes with the hour or day, and machines elsewhere in the region can add their own charge on top.

Japan: the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) describes a cash-based society and advises keeping cash on you, although international credit cards pay for airport trains, taxis and most services. Overseas cards work at Seven Bank ATMs, mainly in 7-Eleven stores and with menus in 12 languages, at Japan Post Bank ATMs, mostly in post offices, and at Mizuho, MUFG and SMBC branches. Not every machine runs 24 hours, central ATMs can run out of cash, fees can change with the hour or day, and many bank branches close at 3 p.m. A 10,000-yen note is generally accepted even for small purchases, and carrying more than one million yen in cash requires a customs declaration.

Mainland China: daily payments run through Alipay, WeChat Pay and the UnionPay app, which take foreign cards (next section). International cards also withdraw yuan at ATMs and pay for trains on the 12306 website and app, and bank outlets change foreign currency and break large notes into small ones. Each visitor may carry up to RMB 20,000 in cash into or out of China each time.

Thailand: Wise is moving personal accounts with a Thai registered address to local rules in 2026. Cards linked to those accounts can no longer withdraw cash at Thai ATMs, though they still work at ATMs abroad, and existing cards are cancelled by January 2027 (as of 10 Oct 2026). The change applies only to Thai-address accounts, so expats living in Thailand need another card for baht cash, while visitors with a Wise account registered elsewhere keep using theirs.

Vietnam and Indonesia: prices run into hundreds of thousands of dong or rupiah, so count the zeros on the ATM screen and the card terminal before you confirm, and choose the local currency when asked.

The Chinese government’s 2025 guide lists Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, American Express, JCB, Diners Club and Discover as cards you can bind, and the issuer has to verify the card. Alipay’s terms for overseas cards cover purchases from eligible merchants rather than transfers to people or cash withdrawals, so a driver who asks for a personal transfer needs another payment method.

Some wallets from other countries pay by QR code in mainland China directly, among them AlipayHK, WeChat Pay HK, Kakao Pay, Naver Pay, Toss Pay, Touch ’n Go eWallet, TrueMoney, GCash, Changi Pay and Kaspi. If you already use one of them at home, it saves binding a card.

Two parties can charge for one withdrawal: your card provider and the ATM’s operator. In Japan, take larger amounts less often from Seven Bank or Japan Post Bank to keep both down, and use whichever card still has allowance left this month.

Example with N26 (EU plans, as of 26 Sep 2026): withdrawing the equivalent of EUR 400 in yen on Standard costs EUR 6.80 in N26 markup (1.7%). Go has no markup but costs EUR 9.90 a month, so on cash alone it pays off once non-euro withdrawals pass about EUR 582 a month (9.90 ÷ 0.017). ATM operator fees come on top either way.

An ATM or terminal that offers to bill you in your home currency is using dynamic currency conversion (DCC), which Visa describes as optional, with its own rate and markup. Choose yen, yuan, baht or the other local currency, and your card’s own rate applies.

Before arrival, ask each hotel which card brand it takes for the deposit, how much it blocks and when it releases the hold. The Chinese government’s guide gives the same advice for China, notes that some hotels accept Apple Pay or PayPal, and mentions booking through Trip.com with an international card.

Revolut, N26 and RedotPay all work in Apple Pay and Google Pay, while Wise and Bybit Card support varies with the issuing country. Keep the physical cards for ATMs and carry the backup separately from the main card.

Since Visa and Mastercard suspended their Russian operations in March 2022, cards issued by Russian banks cannot pay, withdraw cash or be linked to Alipay or WeChat Pay in Asia. Mir is accepted abroad in only a small number of places.

Cash in US dollars or euros is the lawful fallback for residents of Russia. The next section shows where to change it in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan and China and how much each border asks you to declare.

Wise, Revolut, N26 and Bybit Card (EU) take customers who legally live in their supported countries and pass identity checks, while RedotPay lists Russia among restricted jurisdictions (as of 24 Aug 2026). If you are a legal resident of another country, get a card there before travelling.

Across these five countries, visitors whose own cards do not work abroad pay with US dollars or euros changed into local cash at banks and licensed exchanges. A Visa or Mastercard from a bank in the country where you legally live pays and withdraws cash in all five. In mainland China, merchants mostly take Alipay and WeChat Pay: bind a card from your country of residence to them, or pay directly with your own wallet if it is on the Chinese government’s list, which includes AlipayHK, Kakao Pay and GCash.

Set these up before departure, while card deliveries and security codes still reach your home address and number.