Hong Kong Dollars in Vancouver: Travel Cash for Your HK Trip

If you are flying from Vancouver to Hong Kong, bring some Hong Kong dollars (HKD) in cash for your first days and for the small places that still prefer it. For a typical one-week trip, many travellers find HK$2,000 to HK$3,000 in cash is a comfortable amount alongside a card, and at our posted rate that is roughly $370 to $555 CAD. You can buy HKD cash at FonderX in New Westminster before you leave.

Why bring Hong Kong dollars in cash

Hong Kong is a modern city where cards and tap payments are widely accepted in malls, hotels and chain stores. Cash still matters, though. Market stalls, small family-run eateries, some taxis and older neighbourhood shops are often easier to deal with when you can pay in notes and coins.

Having HKD in hand when you land also means you are not hunting for an exchange counter after a long flight. You can pay for a snack, a drink or a taxi right away and sort out the rest of the trip at your own pace.

Cash is also handy for the Octopus card, the stored-value card used on Hong Kong's MTR trains, buses, ferries and in many convenience stores. You can add money to it with cash at MTR stations and at convenience stores.

How much HKD cash to bring for a week

There is no single right number, because it depends on where you eat, how you get around and how much you plan to shop. A useful approach is to bring enough cash for daily small spending and keep a card for hotels, bigger meals and larger purchases.

Here is a simple worked example using our rate. On Monday November 2, 2026 at 3:51 PM Pacific, our We Sell rate for HKD was 0.18470 CAD per 1 Hong Kong dollar. That is the price you pay us to buy HKD. Rates change through the day, so check today's rates before you come in.

Say you plan a seven-day trip, mostly eating at local spots and using the MTR. Bringing HK$3,000 gives you a cushion of a few hundred Hong Kong dollars per day for food, transit top-ups and small purchases, with your card as a backup. If you plan to rely more heavily on cards, HK$2,000 may be enough. If you are travelling as a family or heading to the markets to shop, HK$5,000 gives more room.

If you come home with leftover notes, you can sell them back to us. At the same posted time, our We Buy rate for HKD was 0.17540 CAD, so HK$500 brought back would have been worth about $87.70 CAD. The difference between the two rates is explained in our guide to the exchange rate board.

Small bills vs large bills

Hong Kong banknotes come in HK$10, HK$20, HK$50, HK$100, HK$500 and HK$1,000. You will also notice that notes of the same value can look different: Hong Kong's notes are issued by three banks, with the HK$10 note issued by the government. All of them are legal tender, so do not be surprised if your change looks unfamiliar.

For travel spending, smaller notes are much easier to use. A HK$1,000 note can be awkward at a noodle shop or a market stall, and some small vendors may not have change for it.

A practical mix for a week might look like this:

• Mostly HK$100 notes for everyday spending.
• A handful of HK$50 and HK$20 notes for snacks, drinks and transit top-ups.
• One or two HK$500 notes as a reserve, kept separate from your daily wallet.

When you buy at FonderX, tell us how you plan to use the cash and we will do our best to give you a useful mix, depending on what we have in stock that day.

Cash habits worth knowing

Tipping in Hong Kong is not the same as in Canada. Many sit-down restaurants add a service charge to the bill, so check the receipt before adding anything extra. In small local eateries and at street stalls, tipping is generally not expected. Rounding up a taxi fare is a common, simple courtesy.

Keep your cash safe the way you would in any busy city. Split it between your wallet and a second place, such as a zipped inner pocket or your hotel safe, and avoid counting large amounts in public.

It also helps to keep a few coins handy for small purchases, while your Octopus card takes care of most transit fares once it is topped up.

Buying HKD at FonderX before your trip

Buying your Hong Kong dollars before you leave Vancouver means you arrive ready to go. Here is how it works at FonderX:

• Check today's rates on our live board. The HKD We Sell rate is what you pay per 1 Hong Kong dollar.
• Bring Canadian cash. We are cash only: no debit, credit, e-transfers or cheques.
• Bring valid government photo ID.
• If you need a larger amount, call ahead so we can confirm availability.

If you work as a paramedic, firefighter, police officer, 911 dispatcher, nurse, ER doctor or teacher, ask about our Frontline Heroes Rate and bring your work ID.

Visit FonderX

FonderX Currency Exchange Inc. is at Unit 2, 723 12th Street, New Westminster, BC V3M 4J8, serving New Westminster, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Surrey and Greater Vancouver. We are open Monday to Friday, 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM, and closed on weekends and BC statutory holidays.

We are cash only, and you will need valid government photo ID. For directions or to check on larger amounts, see our contact and hours page or call (778) 759-0400. We are a FINTRAC-registered money services business, MSB registration N300001076.