Yes. The majority of vendors in Taiwan will be able to accept British VISA and MasterCard debit and credit cards for payments, especially so in tourist-heavy areas of Taipei, Kaohsiung City, Taichung City and Tainan. Smaller vendors however may not be able to accept international card payments

Mobile payments are very popular in Taiwan and vendors only need to display a QR code for this. As a result many smaller vendors don’t have a card terminal. Mobile payments with Taiwanese apps such as Taiwan Pay are not available for tourists who don’t have a Taiwanese bank account.

Be aware of currency conversion fees for card payments in Taiwan: Your bank’s TWD to GBP exchange rate may not be so good. This is how banks make money. Before using your bank card for payments in the Republic of China, it’s certainly a good idea to contact your bank. This will avoid your card becoming blocked due to international transactions that your bank may find suspicious.

It’s certainly a good idea to bring TWD cash with you on your trip to Taiwan. Cash remains a popular payment method in Taiwan and it’s a great fallback option when card payments are not accepted.

Vendors only accepting cash include taxi drivers, flea and night markets, street vendors, grocery stores, bakeries and eateries.

A coffee in a cafe in Taiwan costs around $75 TWD. For a three-course meal in a mid-range restaurant the bill will be around $400 TWD.

The overall cost of living in the Republic of China is similar to the UK: prices are on average 6% lower although they may be higher in tourist-heavy areas in Taipei and other Taiwanese large cities.

Tipping is not a common practice in Taiwan. Some restaurants will add a (non-optional) 10% service charge to the bill.

In Taiwan, paying the amount on the bill and not leaving a tip is absolutely normal.