Cards and phones, everywhere
Contactless cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay are accepted almost everywhere, including on the MRT and on buses.
Nobody tips. Restaurant bills already carry a service charge and GST, and the number printed at the bottom is the number you pay.
Foreign cards work fine. What catches people out is their own bank's foreign transaction fee, not anything at the Singapore end.
QR payments, and how to pay with stablecoins
PayNow and PayLah QR codes are everywhere, including at hawker stalls that look like they have been cash-only since 1970.
Grab is the bridge. Load your GrabPay balance from a crypto wallet in USDC or USDT, then pay any PayNow or PayLah QR with it. That is the shortest route from a wallet to a plate of chicken rice.
Crypto-backed Visa cards issued in Singapore dollars work here and abroad: BasedApp, KAST and the Crypto.com card are the three people in this industry actually carry.
Cash, and how little of it you need
Some older hawker stalls and a few wet market vendors still want notes. Fifty dollars covers a week of that.
ATMs are common and take foreign cards. Money changers in Chinatown and Mustafa give better rates than the airport if you are converting a real amount.
What a week costs
Hawker meal, three to seven dollars. Coffee, four to six. A beer in a bar, twelve to eighteen, which is the one line item that will surprise you.
Fifteen minute ride, six to ten dollars. A day of MRT, under five.
Conference week hotel rates near Marina Bay are not the normal Singapore market. Book early or stay two stops out and commute in.
Every one of these payment methods needs a data connection. That is the whole argument for sorting your phone before you fly.
