Can you leave a tip in a Russian restaurant without cash?

How tipping works in Russia

Tips are not included in the bill. A service charge is rare, and if there is one it is printed on the receipt. About 10% is the usual amount in a restaurant or café with table service; nobody expects a tip at a counter, a coffee kiosk or a fast-food place.

Most card terminals in Russia have no tip line, and the waiter usually cannot add a tip to the card payment. That is why cash rubles left in the bill folder have long been the default.

Cashless tips through a QR code

Over the past few years many city restaurants have joined QR tip services such as Netmonet and CloudTips. The code is printed on the receipt, stands on the table or hangs on the waiter’s badge. You scan it with your phone camera, pick an amount or a percentage, and pay. The tip goes straight to the waiter.

The payment page usually offers the Russian payment network and Russian bank cards. A card from global payment methods is declined here just as it is at the till, so you need a card that works inside Russia’s payment systems. PayInRussia does: choose the Russian payment network on the tip page and confirm in the app, or enter its card details if the page asks for a card instead.

• Scan the QR code on the receipt with your phone camera
• Choose an amount or a percentage of the bill
• Pick the Russian payment network as the payment method
• Select Pay in Russia in the bank list and confirm in the app
• Show the waiter the confirmation screen if they ask

When there is no QR code

Smaller cafés, bars, places outside the big cities and restaurants with older tills often have no tip code. Then cash is the only realistic way: leave the notes in the bill folder or hand them to the waiter. A tip on a 3 000 ₽ dinner is about 300 ₽, so keep a few 100 ₽ and 200 ₽ notes for exactly this.

If you have no rubles on you, it is fine to skip the tip. It is appreciated, not required, and staff do not expect it from every table.