[willbw]

New Zealand for whatever reason I used cash a lot too. Australia you can pay stuff for small sums like $1 on card almost everywhere so no point to carry cash most of the time

[sitharus]

Australia has regulated interchange rates so credit/debit card acceptance has been higher. Credit cards are capped at 0.8% and debit cards are lower. Mastercard published a list: https://www.mastercard.com.au/en-au/about-mastercard/what-we...

NZ's government thinks (or thought, it's changed recently) that the market would sort it out so the current rates are up to 3% for credit and 1.5% for debit, again Mastercard's list is here: https://www.mastercard.co.nz/en-nz/about-mastercard/what-we-...

EFTPOS transaction are generally fee-free for all parties.

[LouisSayers]

You can do the same in NZ - it’s called eftpos / PayPass (PayWave in Aus). Cash is rarely needed in NZ if you’re a local.

If you only carry credit cards though you’re going to need some cash.

[madeofpalk]

FWIW, PayPass and PayWave are the trademarked terms used by MasterCard and Visa internationally (respectively) for contactless payment

[HumanDrivenDev]

edited parent - I meant EFTPOS wasn't as ubiquitous in AU as it was in NZ.