We are in Kuching Borneo. We tried unsuccessfully to get some local cash at an ATM. Don't know why it didn't work, our debit card has worked in all the other countries we've been thru. So, when we wanted to purchase a 50 cent item at a local store we didn't think it was reasonable to use a card and pulled out whatever cash I had to see if they would take it. 1 us dollar? No, they didn't like that. Let's see what else I have. How about Singapore dollars or Australian dollars? That's what I had in my bag.
The cash I had in my bag. Indonesian, Australian, Singapore, Philippines, USA 😜
I ended up using the card after all. 2.50 Malaysian ringet is about 60 cents, it shows up on my credit card transactions as 0.64 USD.
QR Codes are not all created equal
Next stop The Monkey Bar for a beer. They had a sign by the register that said cash or QR code only, no credit cards. Well, that should be no problem, we know how to scan a QR code, and we have Google wallet all set up. We also have the Wise app with money in it, and Wise can scan a QR code to send payment. Nope, scanning the QR code just yielded a long number, no link, nothing else popped up, just the number.
Apparently they are expecting you to have a local banking app that will scan the code and pay. The Google wallet is still backed by a credit card and they don't want a credit card.
Maybe the Wise app would have worked. I didn't think of that until we left. Luckily there were other shipmates in the bar and they had some cash, having successfully navigated the ATM earlier.
Turns out the QR codes are for their local payment apps Alipay, or Sarawak pay.
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