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DineroMoney and paying

How to pay in Puerto Rico

It's US dollars and your cards work. The catch is the small places, the ones with the best food and the beach chairs, where cash or the local app rules.

Old San JuanOld San Juan

Cards and cash

Hotels, restaurants, supermarkets and rental desks take cards and contactless just like home. Cash still matters at the edges: parking garages, beach chair rentals, roadside kiosks, food stands, públicos (shared vans) and many taxis. Most públicos and taxis don't take cards. Carry $100 in small bills. Island ATMs run on the ATH network, which connects to NYCE, and the machine will show its fee before you confirm.

Why ATH Móvil won't work for you

ATH Móvil is how Puerto Ricans pay each other and pay small businesses, and you'll see the sign everywhere. To use it you need a debit card from a participating Puerto Rico bank or credit union. Mainland Visa and Mastercard cards and mainland bank accounts don't qualify. Some small vendors take only cash or ATH Móvil. ATH Móvil on the App Store

Paying with Cash App

Kiosks, food stands, tour operators and shops that take Cash App through riverArk let you pay from your Cash App dollar balance by scanning the business's payment code, and they receive dollars. You don't need to own or understand bitcoin; the payment uses the Bitcoin Lightning Network behind the scenes. It works on the island with your regular mainland Cash App account and your US phone plan.

“Do you take Cash App using riverArk?”

Ask that at the counter. If the answer is yes, here's the whole thing:

  1. Verify once, before you fly. In Cash App, complete the bitcoin verification. It's a one-time identity check and takes a few minutes. Cash App's Lightning payments are for US residents and aren't available to New York residents.
  2. Open Cash App and tap the scanner on the payment screen.
  3. Scan the business's code for the exact amount, choose to pay from your Cash balance, and confirm.
Why it's a safe way to payYour card number never leaves your phone, so there's nothing to skim or copy at a roadside stand. You see the exact total before you confirm. Payments are final once sent, so check the amount on screen first, the same as handing over cash.

Cash App may set limits on bitcoin and Lightning payments; check the app if a larger payment won't go through. Any Bitcoin Lightning wallet works too.

Looking for places that take bitcoin? Search the island on BTC Map.

Own a business in Puerto Rico? Take Cash App with riverArk and get paid in dollars to your own account.

Sales tax and tipping

Puerto Rico's sales and use tax, the IVU, is 11.5 percent: 10.5 percent state plus 1 percent municipal. It's added at the register, like a mainland sales tax. Hotels add a separate room tax.

Tip as you would at home. Card screens usually suggest 15, 18, 20 or 25 percent. Puerto Rico's consumer agency, DACO, says a tip is always optional and can never be imposed, and businesses face fines for forcing one. If a mandatory tip shows up on your bill, you can ask for it to be removed and report it to DACO. Metro: DACO on tips