Current Events > Do Americans really not have the tap feature on credit / debit cards?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Are you 20 years behind us?

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We do

I have it and still use the chip

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as a german
what is that

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CommonStar posted...

We do

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We do! I didn't even know my card supported that until a fast food cashier pointed it out to me ;>_>

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We can tap our phones to ride the tube, can you do that in your future country?

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Yes...cashiers have been letting me know lately. Feeling like a boomer.

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I'm not sure if mine does but I know my mom's card can do it. I use the chip

Choco posted...

as a german
what is that

The debit machine will have a little wireless spot on it, you simply place your card over the sensor and the transaction will automatically complete. No swipe, no touching the machine even. Weve had this for years well before covid.

CommonStar posted...

We do

My information may be faulty then

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Yes, we even clap after the tap
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CARRRNE_ASADA posted...

Yes...cashiers have been letting me know lately. Feeling like a boomer.

Funny thing is it's not even that much quicker, and if anything it takes longer.
I find it gimmicky.
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Some cards issued have the tap feature, plus phone apps can do tapping as well.

Honestly, I've seen the tap not work enough times I am not going to use it even though I have cards that can do it. Outside of maybe taking a few seconds less to process, I don't see the point when it fails so much(from my experience working retail).

Phone tapping makes sense though, because it is added security.

SiO4 posted...

Funny thing is it's not even that much quicker, and if anything it takes longer.
I find it gimmicky.

I constantly hear this from American's about chip and pin/wireless and I remain constantly baffled as wireless/tap is infinitely faster than pin and pin is miles faster than swipe and signing.

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Every card but my debit card has the tap feature (I was issued the card just before they added it). What often doesn't have the tap feature are the pay terminals, and of those that do have it, I much sooner would use my phone to pay instead of the actual card.
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SiO4 posted...

Funny thing is it's not even that much quicker, and if anything it takes longer.
I find it gimmicky.

how does it take longer?

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Hover card.

Wait 5 seconds for it to acknowledge card.

Goes through the payment processing.

Done.

VS slamming card in the slot and it processes asap

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lzual posted...

how does it take longer?

Because first half the time you have to explain it.
Second people are trying to mash their card into the reader before you prompt the reader.
When you tell them to hold on a second they tend to pull their card away.
When the reader is ready they tend to sloppily tap at it until it finally works.

All while they could have just handed me the damn thing and it could have been done.

In my experience, the people who go on about the tap function are just control freaks....being helpful.
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SK8T3R215 posted...

Wait 5 seconds for it to acknowledge card.

5 seconds????

It literally maybe takes one second if that here. 5 is a lot.

So what im getting here is you guys just got it and therefore a lot of places dont have the right machines yet?


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SiO4 posted...

Because first half the time you have to explain it.
Second people are trying to mash their card into the reader before you prompt the reader.
When you tell them to hold on a second they tend to pull their card away.
When the reader is ready they tend to sloppily tap at it until it finally works.

All while they could have just handed me the damn thing and it could have been done.

In my experience, the people who go on about the tap function are just control freaks....being helpful.

Having worked in retail (admittedly well over a decade ago at this point) I think I can count the number of times this sort of thing happened on one hand.

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SiO4 posted...

Because first half the time you have to explain it.
Second people are trying to mash their card into the reader before you prompt the reader.
When you tell them to hold on a second they tend to pull their card away.
When the reader is ready they tend to sloppily tap at it until it finally works.

All while they could have just handed me the damn thing and it could have been done.

In my experience, the people who go on about the tap function are just control freaks....being helpful.

omg your system is garbage.

Heres how it works in the great nation of Canada. Literally everywhere you go except for maybe the odd mom and pop shop holdout.

Cashier: okay your total is $37.50
me: okie *tippie taps my lil card on the machine
*one second later
cashier: okay here you go *hands me the receipt and my items and Im gone*

Yall are 20 years behind us da fuck


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Whenever the tap works flawlessly, or a phone, it is a few seconds quicker, in my store, vs inserting the card.

But at the same time, those few seconds are irrelevent to me if the chance for it not working is as high as it is. There's like an 80+% chance it will work, which is high but not super.

I use Apple Pay on my phone. Its easier than digging the card out of my wallet so I havent even asked for my cards to be upgraded to contactless payments.

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Also covid has been the best thing for the drive through fast food experience. Seriously.

before covid the person at the window would try and hand you this whole ass debit machine, cords hanging out the window and shit. and I never wanted any part of the ownership of it. I would always just say to hold it or just try and tap it quick.

now they have the whole machine on a stick and I never have to touch the fuckin thing.

Thanks covid. You did one thing right.

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We just switched to the chip like 5 years ago. Some stores still don't use that either

Choco posted...

as a german
what is that

Kontaktloses Bezahlen

We have it, more so since the pandemic
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Funkydog posted...

I constantly hear this from American's about chip and pin/wireless and I remain constantly baffled as wireless/tap is infinitely faster than pin and pin is miles faster than swipe and signing.

Whether you tap, swipe or chip you still have to put your pin in if you choose debit.

Also we have had this feature for years. I remember my card having it 10 years ago. Not all card companies have chips or wireless though. So some people may not know it exists. Especially if they use a credit union or a local bank.

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This is a bizarre topic, is the feature just garbage in America because I'm in nz and the process is nearly instantaneous. The only issue is that using the pay wave feature incurs a small fee which is kinda bad during a pandemic, seeing you don't wanna be molesting a terminal

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yutterh posted...

Whether you tap, swipe or chip you still have to put your pin in if you choose debit.

Also we have had this feature for years. I remember my card having it 10 years ago. Not all card companies have chips or wireless though. So some people may not know it exists. Especially if they use a credit union or a local bank.

Here you don't need to put your pin in if you tap, you just have a daily limit. Swiping hasn't really been a thing here since forever with pin (but it does still exist), and not sure can even get a card without a chip anymore tbh.

It's all very quick either way though. Tap takes mere seconds, the lengthiest bit being taking it our of your purse/wallet and moving it to the terminal. Putting your pin in similarly quick and doesn't involve signing it and checking the signatures.

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DEKMStephens posted...

incurs a small fee

gross

Funkydog posted...

the lengthiest bit being taking it our of your purse/wallet and moving it to the terminal.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5rvj8Cc35ss&t=1m49s

i have a wallet like this. I keep my debit card with the tap out at the bottom (or I guess at the top of the fan depending on how you want to think of it). So I literally dont even have to take it out of my wallet. I just hit the button, it fans out and I just hold it over the machine. Feels real good.

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Conflict posted...

I'd say there are other more concerning matters that need to be advanced before this

There is no place in this world for your shortsighted bullshit. Let someone tell you how things can be better. Big or small.

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Conflict posted...

I'd say there are other more concerning matters that need to be advanced before this

Well it's already advanced so why not make use of the convenience?

SwayM posted...

i have a wallet like this. I keep my debit card with the tap out at the bottom. So I literally dont even have to take it out of my wallet. I just hit the button, it fans out and I just hold it over the machine. Feels real good.

Those definitely do make it even more simpler for sure.

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SwayM posted...

omg your system is garbage.

Heres how it works in the great nation of Canada. Literally everywhere you go except for maybe the odd mom and pop shop holdout.

Cashier: okay your total is $37.50
me: okie *tippie taps my lil card on the machine
*one second later
cashier: okay here you go *hands me the receipt and my items and Im gone*

Yall are 20 years behind us da fuck

Oh the system I have is complete Garbage.
The OS alone is 20 years old. The home screen looks like an Atari game, I shit you not.

I am constantly fighting with it.

I'll just say, Want to go back on something....Do you hit ESC or F4...Ya, you hit F4.
Do you know how long in my life I've been waiting for ESC to be useful for anything?

At home it works, and work it doesn't.

It breaks my brain any time I have to deal with it.
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SwayM posted...

Are you 20 years behind us?

WRT some things, yes. this being one of them. y'all had touch payment as a standard like 5+ years ago and we're just barely rolling it out in 2021

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I pay for almost everything with my apple watch.

Where I live most retailers don't have it yet. My card can do it, but I think the only place that has the tech is a convenience store.

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I just found out last week that my card has it. I doubt all stores could accommodate, but it doesn't take as long as using the chip.

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SiO4 posted...

Because first half the time you have to explain it.
Second people are trying to mash their card into the reader before you prompt the reader.
When you tell them to hold on a second they tend to pull their card away.
When the reader is ready they tend to sloppily tap at it until it finally works.

All while they could have just handed me the damn thing and it could have been done.

In my experience, the people who go on about the tap function are just control freaks....being helpful.

Sounds like a training issue. We've been using contactless for perhaps 10 years in the UK. Never seen this before outside of a few fringe cases.

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how does security verification work with tap?

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lzual posted...

Sounds like a training issue. We've been using contactless for perhaps 10 years in the UK. Never seen this before outside of a few fringe cases.

The issue is, the old owner was old, and liked to keep things in her own mindset.

I was hired after she passed, and there is a clear distinction between the people that were Pre- and Post- the old owener.
God Bless her for building the business, but 'we' need to move beyond her vision.
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SiO4 posted...

The issue is, the old owner was old, and liked to keep things in her own mindset.

I was hired after she passed, and there is a clear distinction between the people that were Pre- and Post- the old owener.
God Bless her for building the business, but 'we' need to move beyond her vision.

Yeah definitely. I think this is the issue I've seen the most in the US that's it's the businesses that are behind the times and not training their staff or embracing the change. In the UK there was a big push and I will confidently say I think over 99% of businesses that take card payments accept contactless. I made a topic a few years ago on this and was amazing the take up in the US was so low. Especially outside of the big cities.

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lzual posted...

Yeah definitely. I think this is the issue I've seen the most in the US that's it's the businesses that are behind the times and not training their staff or embracing the change. In the UK there was a big push and I will confidently say I think over 99% of businesses that take card payments accept contactless. I made a topic a few years ago on this and was amazing the take up in the US was so low. Especially outside of the big cities.

Ya, I just try to keep the line moving, and 95% of the time, just using the chip is quicker.

As for contactless...which I knew would come up, It's always makes me chuckle inside when they use the tap feature because of that....But then go on to ask for a bag and receipt which are literal virus spunges.
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ModLogic posted...

how does security verification work with tap?

If I spend over a certain amount in a single transaction, I get asked for my pin

But the onus is on the user to look after their card, report it as missing, etc...
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Weve had those in my area for like 4 or 5 years now and I live very close to Detroit(9 mile and Harper area). Even some of our gas pumps have them but they never work after one winter.

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When I travelled to the US 5-6 years ago, paid for something using tap at a store, and the cashier said that was the first time she had seen that, and didn't realize the machine could do that. That was in 2015 or 2016, in San Francisco.

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Any card issued after 2018 can do it, but not every card reader is capable

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