Generally, credit cards make payment for goods and services easier and safer for people. Credit cards ensure that can move around and get anything they want without carrying cash with them. If you are from one of the countries where credit cards are accepted for almost every transaction, you may want to know whether taxis in Thailand take credit cards.
No, regular taxis in Thailand don’t take credit cards for payments of their services. As noted by commenters on Trip Advisor, you can only pay for a ride in a taxi in Thailand with cash. However, if you are taking a Grab taxi, you can pay for your rides with a credit card as the company has introduced credit card payment to its services.
It is important to know that Thai drivers don’t just accept any cash; they only want Thai baht. So, as you are coming into the country, exchange your foreign currency for Thai baht or withdraw Thai baht from an ATM. Nevertheless, there are a couple of things you need to understand about paying for taxi rides in Thailand.
Why do taxis in Thailand not take credit cards?
If you are already used to paying for taxi rides with credit cards, you may be surprised that taxis don’t take credit cards in Thailand. Of course, taxis don’t accept credit card payments because of the following reasons.
- Thailand is mostly a cash economy
Without a doubt, Thailand is still mostly a cash economy. In other words, you need to use cash for paying for any good or service in the country. Market sellers, street vendors, etc. don’t take credit cards. Even some fancy restaurants, hotels, etc. don’t accept credit card payments.
Therefore, it is not strange that drivers will not accept credit cards after giving you a ride.
- Certainty of payment
Let’s face it; cash is the only form of payment that offers certainty. When a taxi driver receives cash, he is certain that you have paid for the service rendered. Although payment with counterfeit money is a possibility, its occurrence is almost unlikely. Besides, cash can be used almost immediately by the driver to pay for a service or product without any stress.
However, the reverse is the case for credit cash. The payment is virtual; hence, a taxi driver can doubt whether you have paid or not. Also, the money may not be available for use by the driver for some periods.
- Transaction fees
If a driver accepts credit cards for payment, such a driver may need to pay some transaction fees to accept his fund. While the fees may look small, they can make a big difference in the overall earning of the driver. Besides, many drivers in Thailand are earning little money; hence, they want to protect their finances by avoiding the transaction fees of credit cards.
- Paperwork
To be able to accept credit card payments, a driver must have done a few things. Unfortunately, this will involve some paperwork which can be quite frustrating for most drivers who are not too educated.
- No credit cards for lots of people in Thailand
Most individuals in Thailand don’t own credit cards. This means that only a handful of people can use credit cards to pay for any service and good. As a result of this, only a few customers can demand credit card payments. This is a big deterrent to the acceptance of credit card payments by taxis in Thailand.
- Many drivers don’t know how to accept credit card payment
- To accept a credit card payment for a taxi ride, the driver may need to get a card machine. Besides, it is important to understand how to operate the machine to avoid any issue with taking credit cards. Unfortunately, lots of drivers don’t know how credit cards work. Also, they cannot process credit card payments. Therefore, it is unreasonable for them to take credit cards for taxi rides.
- Customers don’t want to pay inconvenience fees
Some taxi drivers are willing to accept credit card payments from the few people using credit cards if they will pay the inconvenience fees. However, most people don’t want to pay any inconvenience fee. As a consequence of this, the taxi driver may need to bear the fees. Instead of doing so, taxi drivers prefer not to take credit cards from customers.
Grab accepts credit card payments
If you don’t want to take a regular Thai taxi, you can go for Grab taxis. Simply put, Grab is a company that offers numerous services such as GrabBike, GrabCar, GrabMart, and GrabFood. With the help of GrabCar, you can take a taxi in Thailand and pay with your credit card. As long as your debit or credit card is MasterCard, Visa, JCB, or Amex, drivers of GrabCar will accept it. You can learn more about this on the Grab website.
Always have small bills with you
Are you interested in taking a regular taxi in Thailand? You should note that many drivers will intentionally or unintentionally shortchange you. In other words, they will not give you your balance after paying for a taxi ride with a large bill of Thai Baht. Some drivers don’t usually have change while others will hide the change they have to shortchange their customers.
Therefore, you should play smart by always having small cash in Baht. Small bills like 20 or 50 Thai Baht notes will come in handy to avoid any shortchanging. At the airport, some exchangers will be willing to change your large bills to smaller ones. Once you have the smaller bills, you can get on the road and start taking taxis in Thailand without any issue.
Overall, regular taxis in Thailand don’t take credit cards as they don’t want to deal with the issues that come with it. So, if you need to take a taxi in Thailand, make sure you have Thai baht bills with you. Otherwise, go for GrabCab that accepts credit cards from its customers.
