Money and payment

What to know

1. 01

   Cash, cards and what to carry

   Thailand is much more card-friendly than it was, but it is still a cash country the moment you leave a mall. Street food, markets, songthaews, small guesthouses and most massage shops are cash only.

   Notes are 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 baht. Break your 1,000s early — a food stall genuinely may not be able to change one, and being unable to pay is a more common problem than being robbed.

   QR payment (PromptPay) is everywhere, including market stalls, but it is tied to a Thai bank account. As a visitor you will mostly be outside it, which is worth knowing before you assume you can pay by phone.

2. 02

   ATMs, and the fee nobody warns you about

   Every Thai ATM charges foreign cards a fixed fee per withdrawal, on top of whatever your own bank charges. It has been 220 THB for years and applies whether you take out 1,000 baht or 20,000.

   The arithmetic is the whole point: that fee is 22 % of a 1,000 baht withdrawal and 1.1 % of a 20,000 one. Take out more, less often, and keep it somewhere sensible.

   Always decline the machine's offer to convert to euros. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM operator, not by your bank — it is reliably worse, usually by 3–7 %. Choose "continue without conversion" and let your own bank do it.

   Fees change without notice and 220 THB is what has held for a long time, not a promise. The screen tells you before you confirm — read it, and you can still cancel at that point.
3. 03

   Changing money, and where the rate is best

   Do not change money at the airport arrivals hall beyond the little you need to reach the city. Dedicated exchange booths in town — SuperRich and similar — give noticeably better rates than banks, and far better than hotels.

   Bring euros rather than leva. Since Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026 this is simply what you have, and EUR is one of the currencies every Thai booth quotes. Notes must be clean and unmarked; a torn note is often refused outright.

   Wise or a similar multi-currency account is usually the cheapest way to hold euros and spend baht, and avoids the ATM fee question entirely if you can withdraw rarely.

4. 04

   Tipping, and when not to

   Thailand has no tipping obligation. Nobody is paid a tipped wage and nobody will chase you down the street.

   What is normal: rounding up a taxi fare, leaving the coins from your change at a restaurant, 20–50 baht for a porter, and 50–100 baht after a good hour-long massage. Smart restaurants often add a 10 % service charge — when they do, that is the tip and nothing further is expected.

   Do not tip at a street stall or a food court. It is not rude, it is simply not done, and it can be awkward for the person serving you.