How to Pay for Things in Taiwan: Cash, Cards, EasyCard, and the July 2026 MRT Change

Short version: bring some cash, use your card at department stores and drugstore chains, and do not assume every small shop will take a foreign card. EasyCard is still a physical card only — it does not go into Apple Wallet — but since July 1, 2026, you can also tap a contactless credit card or Apple Pay directly at Taipei MRT gates. Buses still need EasyCard.

What this guide is based on

My most recent trip to Taiwan was in June 2025. The cash-spending pattern and the EasyCard top-up habit below come from that trip.

The story about a declined VISA card, and my use of the Bank of Taiwan counters at Songshan and Kaohsiung airports, are from an earlier visit — I do not remember the exact year, so I am not going to guess.

The July 2026 MRT payment change and the ATM currency-conversion warning are research-based, and I have linked the sources.

Quick answer

• Cash: budget for daily small purchases. NT$500 covered a normal day for me, on top of card spending.
• Cards work fine at department stores (I used mine at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi) and at drugstore chains like Cosmed and Watsons.
• Some small, local shops refuse foreign-issued cards outright, no matter the brand. Keep cash as a backup.
• EasyCard is required for buses. For the MRT, a contactless credit card or Apple Pay/Google Pay/Samsung Pay linked to a card now works too, as of July 1, 2026.
• At ATMs, decline the “with conversion” (DCC) option. Choosing it gives you a worse exchange rate.
• Bank of Taiwan counters at the airport keep longer hours than city branches, which close on weekends. Confirm the current hours before you fly.

Cash: about NT0 a day

I withdraw cash from ATMs rather than exchanging bills at a counter in the city.

On my June 2025 trip, I used a Wise card for these withdrawals and could see the exact dates in the Wise app afterward, which is how I know the timing. A normal day of small purchases (drinks, snacks, a market stall here and there) ran about NT$500 in cash, on top of whatever I put on a card.

One thing to watch for at the ATM: some machines ask if you want “conversion” applied to the transaction (this is called Dynamic Currency Conversion, or DCC). If you select it, the machine converts the amount using its own exchange rate, which is worse than your card’s normal rate. Choosing “without conversion” and letting your own bank or card issuer handle the exchange rate gets you a better deal. This is not specific to Taiwan — it is a general ATM trap — but it is worth calling out because the screen wording is easy to misread quickly.

When a card gets declined for no clear reason

On an earlier trip, I tried to pay with a VISA card at a local supermarket I go to regularly. The clerk turned it down and told me, in short, that foreign-issued cards were not accepted there — not a brand issue, just a store policy against non-domestic cards. I cannot tell you if that is still the policy today; I have not been back to check. I am including it because it illustrates a real pattern: acceptance of foreign cards varies store by store in Taiwan, and it is not something you can predict just by looking at a shop from outside. Carry enough cash that one declined card does not become a problem.

Cards that did work: department stores and drugstore chains

For anything at a department store — I used mine at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi for gifts — a card worked without issue. The same was true at drugstore chains: Cosmed (康是美) and Watsons (屈臣氏) both took my card normally. If your trip is mostly shopping malls, drugstores, and convenience stores, you can lean on a card for most of it. The exceptions are smaller, independently run shops, where cash is the safer default.

EasyCard: physical card only, and what changed on the MRT in July 2026

Taiwan’s EasyCard (悠遊卡) does not work the way Japan’s Suica does on an iPhone. You cannot add it to Apple Wallet as a digital transit card. If you are expecting to tap your phone the way you would in Tokyo, that expectation does not carry over — you need the physical card.

On my June 2025 trip, I topped up my EasyCard with cash each morning, usually NT$100 to NT$300, enough to cover that day’s rides.

What has changed since then: as of July 1, 2026, Taipei Metro (TRTC) began accepting contactless credit cards and mobile wallets — Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay linked to a card — directly at MRT fare gates, alongside EasyCard. Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Discover, and Diners Club are all supported. Fares are calculated automatically on tap-in and tap-out, the same as EasyCard, though card transactions do not qualify for the MRT’s Frequent Rider discount program (source: Taipei Times, July 1, 2026, link below). Buses are a separate system and still require EasyCard or a QR-code payment app as far as I know.

So the short version for 2026 onward: MRT — card or phone is enough, EasyCard is now optional. Bus — you still need EasyCard.

Source: Taipei Metro launches credit card payments — Taipei Times, July 1, 2026

Where to exchange cash: Bank of Taiwan at the airport

Both Taipei Songshan and Kaohsiung airports have a Bank of Taiwan counter, and both stay open later than a typical city branch — city branches in Taiwan generally close on weekends. I have used both airport counters on a weekend myself, without trouble.

I am not printing exact opening hours here. Hours like this change, and a number frozen into an article gets stale fast — I already ran into that gap while checking this. Check the current hours yourself before you fly, especially if you are landing very early or very late: Kaohsiung Airport  or Taipei Songshan Airport.

Wallet and passport: two separate systems

I do not use my everyday Japan wallet in Taiwan. I carry a separate travel wallet with the day’s cash, the card I am using, and my EasyCard, and I keep my actual passport in a security pouch instead. Only a photocopy of the passport goes in the day wallet.

The reasoning is specific to Taiwan: unlike some other destinations, I am not asked to show my passport very often here for everyday things, so there is little reason to keep it in the same place as money I am handling constantly. The photocopy covers the rare case where ID is requested. In effect, the security pouch works as a backup wallet too — it holds the passport plus a small reserve of extra cash and a spare card, items I do not need to reach for during the day. The day wallet stays easy to get to; the pouch stays out of the way.

I have not used a coin locker in Taiwan, so I cannot tell you whether they take cards or cash only — I am leaving that detail out rather than guessing.

Who this setup works for

If your trip is mostly malls, drugstore chains, and MRT rides, a card and Apple Pay will cover most of your spending, and you barely need cash. If you plan to eat at small, independently run places or shop outside the main chains, keep more cash on hand than you think you need — card acceptance is inconsistent enough that I would not rely on it as a fallback.