Originally Posted by
Ryanardo_daVinci
I think Apple Pay is the cause for surprise. POS machines need to be specifically enabled or upgraded to be able to use Apple Pay, but it’s been around long enough for everyone to realise they they either do or don’t accept Apple Pay.
Android Pay is different as it actually emulates the contactless feature of the card rather than being an entirely different payment method, so Android Pay can be used wherever contactless payments are accepted. Therefore, you get a business owner/operator who is surprised when someone is paying with their phone when they didn’t sign up for a specific service.
They both work the same places contactless credit/debit cards do. You may be thinking of Samsung Pay, which emits magnetic pulses to make terminals think a card was swiped; this works in more places in the US thanks to contactless payment actually being something that retailers have to implement themselves (thanks to them insisting on their own software instead of using the banks', among other factors).
Originally Posted by
lhrsfo
Using Apple or Android Pay is inconvenient for the great majority of people. It's only really Americans who would use it as they don't have any satisfactory alternatives .
I find that it's pretty convenient if you have a smartwatch. That's yet another electronic item to buy and keep charged though.
Originally Posted by
Astaroth
Does anyone know how contactless works internationally in terms of limits? So UK limit is £30 but in Australia its $100 so circa £45. Does the UK or Australian limit apply when trying to use a UK card over in Aus? The UK limit was raised without reissuing cards and so I'd be surprised if the limits are hardcoded into the cards themselves but don't know if card machines hold all international limits to be able to apply them.
To oversimplify things, the limits are generally coded into the terminals, not the cards. Those limits are also either soft limits or hard limits, depending on whether a country supports PIN verified by the bank of not. It's why Australians can tap for much larger than $100 as long as PIN is entered, while UK terminals force insertion of cards if you try to spend more than £30.
Also, any hard limits a country has generally don't apply when you're using a mobile wallet.
Originally Posted by
kmersh
Around 2011 I had a Google Galaxy Nexus with NFC and I used it at a McDonalds to the astonishment of the clerk behind the register and her Manager who was looking at it from a far.
I sat down to eat my food and read a little of the book I brought along when a Police Officer entered the restaurant, walked past me quickly and disappeared, I went back to reading my book making nothing of the Police Officer, until a few minutes when later he came over to me and asked me to follow him outside.
I did as instructed and he explained that the Manager had called the Police because I had somehow hacked the credit card reader with my phone and he saw the entire thing on tape, so I should not deny it. I actually laughed out loud at the ludicrous nature of what the Police Officer just said and I guess he did not like me laughing at him as he said this was not a laughing matter. I explained to him that I did not hack anything that Google had rolled out Google Wallet (has been called a few different things since) and it was completely legal and in fact it was advertised at working at McDonalds Restaurants.
To make a long story somewhat shorter, he did not believe me at first, but I said to him to use his iPhone which he had clipped to his belt and Google Google Wallet, which he did, and after doing some reading, the Police Officer asked me to wait there with his partner while he went back inside the restaurant. A few minutes later he came back out, explained that he showed the manager what he found about Google Wallet and that it did seem perfectly legal. However, the Manager was uncomfortable with the idea and asked that in the future at this location I pay the old fashioned way, by swiping the card or paying with cash.
Just reminded me a little of experience back in 2011.
I feel like I've seen this story before, just with Google Wallet changed to Android Pay.