Contactless payment widely available in Caribbean?

[loobs40]

We're off on a P&O cruise around Caribbean in Feb. We will be taking a stash of US dollars for general spend around the islands, but since Covid I've been using contact less payments (Google Pay) with my phone for the vast majority of purchases in the UK

 

Is contactless widely available in the Caribbean for example in restaurants, bars, shops etc or is it advisable to take a physical payment card too? 

Edited January 13, 2023 by loobs40

[sparks1093]

I think regardless of the responses taking a physical payment card along would be prudent. The Caribbean covers a lot of ground so you might get better responses if you actually mention the islands you'll be visiting.

Edited January 13, 2023 by sparks1093

[capriccio]

In addition to listing the islands you will visit in this thread, I suggest asking this question on the appropriate sub-forum (each island has their own sub-forum) on the Caribbean Ports of Call forum:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/456-caribbean/.

 

It will be seen by recent cruisers plus local posters who can provide very useful information.

[Honolulu Blue]

23 hours ago, loobs40 said:

We're off on a P&O cruise around Caribbean in Feb. We will be taking a stash of US dollars for general spend around the islands, but since Covid I've been using contact less payments (Google Pay) with my phone for the vast majority of purchases in the UK

 

Is contactless widely available in the Caribbean for example in restaurants, bars, shops etc or is it advisable to take a physical payment card too? 

I confess to not using contactless payment at all in the U.S., though it's becoming more and more available here.  

 

In the Caribbean, my experience is that not too many places will take contactless payments - and the ones that do are probably not the places with the best bargains.  I'd suggest a physical card and Colony Bucks to get around.

[slidergirl]

After my travels through Europe last Summer, I'll say that Europe is FAR ahead of anywhere for contactless payment.  I even got used to using my Wallet on my Apple Phone for tap-and-go payment.  But, I always had a hard card with me, just in case I ran into a mom & pop place that didn't have contactless.  Would be the prudent thing to do in the Caribbean, I would think.

[K32682]

12 hours ago, slidergirl said:

After my travels through Europe last Summer, I'll say that Europe is FAR ahead of anywhere for contactless payment.  I even got used to using my Wallet on my Apple Phone for tap-and-go payment.  But, I always had a hard card with me, just in case I ran into a mom & pop place that didn't have contactless.  Would be the prudent thing to do in the Caribbean, I would think.

 

It might be more accurate to say the U.S. is FAR behind much of the world in contactless and tap payment. 😉

 

The level of technology varies with the island. Some are further ahead than others and it depends on the retailer. Contactless in big hotels is more likely than in a small, local restaurant. When I travel it is with contactless, a hard card and cash (local or USD) to cover all eventualities. 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by K32682

[Charles4515]

3 hours ago, K32682 said:

It might be more accurate to say the U.S. is FAR behind much of the world in contactless and tap payment. 😉

 

Almost everywhere I use my card in the US except restaurant table service has contactless tap payment. I notice I am one of the few who uses it. Tap is so much faster. I can use my Apple Watch for most payments.

 

Yesterday I was at  Target and the lady in front of had inserted her chip card and it was not reading. Inserted it four times. The cashier took her credit card, most credit cards now have tap and the reader accepted that. The lady was freaked out. She had no idea she could tap her credit card. 

Edited January 15, 2023 by Charles4515

[sanger727]

Yeah. Contactless credit card payments isn’t very popular in the US. I didn’t even realize it was an option until about a year ago, I had a card with a worn out chip. Generally had to run it 3 times before I could swipe it. Still didn’t occur to me most times to tap and pay. Just don’t think it’s been widely advertised here. Keep in mind that we only got chip cards within the last few years.

Edited January 16, 2023 by sanger727