I downloaded YouTrip several years ago to see if I could use it as an alternative to PayPal (as it charges unfavourable exchange rates). Think it didn’t work out in my case, so I promptly forgot about it until the wife raved about how useful she found it. It was a pity that she had downloaded it before telling me; otherwise, I could have shilled her my referral code (https://youtrip.onelink.me/3xWB/v132dkmq).

Anyway, I was a bit skeptical about the whole thing since Japan had always been notoriously known to be a cash-heavy society. Still, since my dad gave me two hundred dollars as happy money, that became my capital to test this app.
Unlike my wife, I’m not the kind to monitor the exchange rates on the app religiously. Nonetheless, being the helpful individual that I’m, I managed to secure a favourable rate ($1 = ¥101 - better than what traditional money changers offered at that time) when I was introducing it to a friend who would be visiting Japan in July. I gasped at the good rate and converted my Singapore dollars in front of her on the spot. Talk about a positive demonstration.

Having passed the first test, YouTrip needed to prove its versatility. So I descended upon Fukuoka and asked various merchants if they would accept YouTrip. Sometimes, I just discreetly placed my card on the counter without saying anything. And it worked! The staff just took my card and processed the payment. So it seemed that many stores, including Lawson, accepted YouTrip. I have used it successfully in Fukuoka and Okinawa. I’m still in a state of partial disbelief, I must admit. Gonna test it out in more prefectures before I discard my long-held paradigm that Japan is primarily a cash-heavy society.
I foresee that I will top up my account via PayNow and monitor the exchange rate like a hawk - following in the footsteps of my good wife.