Cash, cards, and the one nobody warns you about
Cards work in hotels, restaurants and city shops. Cash still matters for markets, small towns, tips, and anything bought from a maker directly. ATMs are plentiful in cities and thin out fast beyond them.
The one nobody warns you about is UPI. India largely stopped paying with cards and cash and moved to a domestic instant-payment system that almost every stall, driver and shop now expects. It is not built for visitors. Assume you will not be using it, and carry a little more cash than feels necessary — the gap between how cashless India looks and how cashless it is for you surprises people.
On tipping: it is customary and warmly received, and the shape is guides and drivers at the end of their stretch, hotel staff on departure, restaurants where service is not already added. Rather than print figures that drift, ask your curator before you travel. They will give you the current number for the properties you are actually staying in, which is worth more than an average.
