During meals such as birthdays, first dates or company business lunches, an expectation develops based on social traditions, personal income, and the strength of relationship between the parties.
[citation needed] Some Latin American countries use the Spanish phrase pagar a la americana (literally 'to pay American-style') which refers to a trait attributed to people from the United States or Canada.
In more formal settings (office party) the participants may require to see the supermarket bill to check that the money was spent as agreed.
In Guatemala, a sing-song phrase is used: "A la ley de Cristo, cada quien con su pisto", literally 'By the law of Christ, each one with his own stew'.
It is almost the same in Honduras, where the phrase is "Como dijo Cristo, cada quien con su pisto", 'As Christ said, everyone with their own stew.'
In El Salvador, a different rhyming phrase is used: "Ley de Esparta: cada quien paga lo que se harta", which means 'Spartan law: each pays [for] what they eat'.
In Mexico, the phrase [Evento] de traje, literally 'A white-tie Event' is used in the context where all participants are expected to contribute, either monetarily or in kind--derived from the homonyms 'traje,' first person preterit conjugation of the verb 'traer' ('I brought'), and the generic term for formal male attire, 'traje' ('suit').
It is not uncommon among groups of strangers or sometimes younger generations to split the bill[citation needed]; payment platforms and super-apps WeChat Pay and Alipay have a built-in bill-sharing feature.
In India, Pakistan, Bangladesh,Nepal and Afghanistan was not the prevailing method due to complex societal pressures.
This practice is more prevalent among the younger age group, friends, colleagues and some family members to request separate bills.
In India there are many names for the practice, in different languages: it is called TTMM for tu tera mein mera in Hindi; je jaar shey taar in Bengali; tujhe tu majhe mi in Marathi; neenu nindu koodu, nanu nandu kodthini in Kannada; EDVD for evadi dabbulu vaadi dabbule in Telugu; and thantrathu, thaan in Malayalam.
In a more formal setting the commonly accepted convention is person with higher social standing to take the payments.
As in most Asian countries, the person footing the bill is generally dictated by gender roles or their standing in the community or work.
Traditions of hospitality play a great part in determining who pays, therefore an invitation will be given only when the host feels that he or she is able to afford the expenses of all.
In Iran, it is called Dongi (دنگی), which translates into 'sharing equally' and is used usually among close friends and the young when they are not invited by a specific host.
In Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Malta, it is rather uncommon for most locals to have separate bills, and is sometimes even regarded as rude, especially when in larger groups.
In the Nordic countries and the Netherlands, going Dutch is the norm for almost every visit to a restaurant, with larger groups being the exception, especially on more formal occasions.
[citation needed] Though the Scandinavian countries are some of the most gender-equal in the world, it is still common and mostly expected for men (in a heterosexual context) to pay for lunch/dinner on romantic dates.