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Old Sep 12, 2014, 3:40 pm
  #1  
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USA contactless credit/debit/transit (2014-2016)

To separate the discussion of contactless payments from the main EMV thread, I've create a thread of its own to discuss contactless cards.
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Old Sep 12, 2014, 5:59 pm
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The NFC readers at the McDonalds by my work apparently aren't currently functioning even though the green light's on. It wouldn't recognize Google Wallet today and after a few seconds I gave up and swiped. Anyone have better luck there?
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Old Sep 12, 2014, 6:37 pm
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Originally Posted by tmiw
The NFC readers at the McDonalds by my work apparently aren't currently functioning even though the green light's on. It wouldn't recognize Google Wallet today and after a few seconds I gave up and swiped. Anyone have better luck there?
I used one today at a McDonald's and it worked just fine with my Discover ZIP card. For me, it's Taco Bell I have an issue with. They have them installed, but they're behind anti-robbery plexi-glass so it makes no sense.
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Old Sep 12, 2014, 6:53 pm
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I used my ISIS Serve at Walgreens the other day. I have seen a few places that should have the potential to do it, but weren't hooked up for it or weren't working. Honestly, it doesn't save me any time, so I probably will just do it the normal way. It is cool tech though.
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Old Sep 12, 2014, 7:18 pm
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Originally Posted by kebosabi
I used one today at a McDonald's and it worked just fine with my Discover ZIP card. For me, it's Taco Bell I have an issue with. They have them installed, but they're behind anti-robbery plexi-glass so it makes no sense.
Anti-robbery plexiglas at Taco Bell? Granted, the one near my school had an armed robbery earlier this year, but still. I wouldn't want to live in a neighbourhood where that was considered okay or necessary.

Anyway, fill out a complaint on the Mastercard Paypass locator that contactless is not easily accessible.
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Old Sep 12, 2014, 7:19 pm
  #6  
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Originally Posted by kebosabi
I used one today at a McDonald's and it worked just fine with my Discover ZIP card. For me, it's Taco Bell I have an issue with. They have them installed, but they're behind anti-robbery plexi-glass so it makes no sense.
I'll have to try again when I get my Zip card. I used to have an Amex that had RFID contactless that I converted to EMV early on that would have been nice for testing.

I also wonder if I can get an Android phone on the used market that Softcard supports, turn on prepaid T-Mobile service long enough to activate the app and simply use it with WiFi. Mainly interested in seeing if cardpeek spits out a more EMV compliant result or whether Softcard's implementation is magstripe based (and thus might have problems outside the US) like Google Wallet's.
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Old Sep 12, 2014, 11:13 pm
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Originally Posted by alexmt
Anti-robbery plexiglas at Taco Bell? Granted, the one near my school had an armed robbery earlier this year, but still. I wouldn't want to live in a neighbourhood where that was considered okay or necessary.
Coming across places with cashiers behind plexi-glass is normal here in LA, especially in establishments that were built during the high gang violence years of the 1990s. Not all Taco Bells have them, just the Taco Bells built/renovated during the 1990s. Heck, I think even all the BofA here in LA has them since the NoHo shootout.

Life in LA is quite different from Missoula. Coming across banks, post offices and fast food places with cashiers behind plexiglass are just considered normal.

Originally Posted by alexmt
Anyway, fill out a complaint on the Mastercard Paypass locator that contactless is not easily accessible.
I already did 3 years ago, still keeps them behind the plexiglass.

Last edited by kebosabi; Sep 12, 2014 at 11:18 pm
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Old Sep 12, 2014, 11:42 pm
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Originally Posted by kebosabi
Coming across places with cashiers behind plexi-glass is normal here in LA, especially in establishments that were built during the high gang violence years of the 1990s. Not all Taco Bells have them, just the Taco Bells built/renovated during the 1990s. Heck, I think even all the BofA here in LA has them since the NoHo shootout.

Life in LA is quite different from Missoula. Coming across banks, post offices and fast food places with cashiers behind plexiglass are just considered normal.

I already did 3 years ago, still keeps them behind the plexiglass.
Worth complaining again, and I'm definitely not comparing to Missoula. I'm comparing to London, Berlin, Bucharest, Calgary, Amsterdam, etc... mostly London since that's the city I've spent by far the most time in in my life.
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Old Sep 13, 2014, 1:02 am
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Originally Posted by alexmt
Worth complaining again, and I'm definitely not comparing to Missoula. I'm comparing to London, Berlin, Bucharest, Calgary, Amsterdam, etc... mostly London since that's the city I've spent by far the most time in in my life.
I think we've established by now from the past discussions that:

A. The networks really don't enforce their rules and regulations and,
B. This is Murica we're talking about here.
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Old Sep 13, 2014, 2:15 am
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Originally Posted by kebosabi
I think we've established by now from the past discussions that:

A. The networks really don't enforce their rules and regulations and,
B. This is Murica we're talking about here.
B. If plexiglas order windows are 'Murica's future, I'm getting the heck out (well, I was planning on moving next summer anyway...)
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Old Sep 15, 2014, 9:20 am
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Why Apple Pay could succeed where others have had underwhelming results


Originally Posted by arstechnica.com
But lucky for Apple, a terminal upgrade will be necessary soon in the US. In late 2015, American merchants will have to buy new terminals that support EMV cards, which are more secure (although definitely not hack-proof) than the magnetic stripe cards that the US currently still uses. By October of next year, merchants who don't upgrade their terminals will be made to bear the responsibility for fraud if they are not equipped with EMV card readers. “Merchants are deploying new POS terminals in order to comply with the requirement to have EMV capability in place by October 2015, and nearly all new terminals have the contactless capability needed to accept mobile payments,” senior analyst Thad Peterson of the independent research firm Aite Group told Ars via e-mail. “So, we will very quickly have a critical mass of devices and a critical mass of terminals that are capable of making and accepting mobile payments.” (Peterson added, “The time has come.)

Also, next year's transition to EMV, which is already a widely-supported standard in Europe, Canada, and many other countries, might very well push American consumers to use their phones to pay in increasing numbers, whether that phone is a iPhone 6 or a Samsung Galaxy Note 4. This is because many credit cards based on the new standard will require that the embedded chip be present in the terminal as it reads the necessary information, meaning credit card transactions could take a second or two longer than a quick swipe of a magnetic stripe card. That extra second or two added onto a transaction might be enough to get consumers to feel like using a phone is faster.
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Old Sep 15, 2014, 3:59 pm
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I've been using Google Wallet for about a year now at Walgreens. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When it works, it's cool and cashiers are always impressed and ask me questions.

When it doesn't work, I look like an idiot. I sit there tapping my phone and nothing happens, or it vibrates a little and still nothing happens. And the cashier scowls and says "that never works" and I'm like "it works sometimes" and then I have to pull out my old fashioned card and swipe it while people behind me look at me with much disapproval for holding things up.

Then there's the time when I pull out my phone and it won't work because I don't have a network signal for some reason. I put in my PIN and the little circle thing just keeps spinning, all the while everyone is looking at you like an idiot. So instead I try to pre-enter my PIN before I get to the check out -- which is kind of stupid when you think about it.

Walgreens is the only place I've used it because it's the only place I've gotten it to work. I've seen the Paywave thing at other places but I've tried and never got it to work, along with the "looking like an idiot" problem. So I stopped even trying now.

It's really a big hassle. Hopefully Apple pulls it off better. If they do, they deserve to walk all over Google's implementation. Because frankly it sucks. But I have my doubts because I think it's a terminal/merchant/provider issue and instead of just me looking like an idiot, soon there's going to be a plethora of Apple users holding up lines everywhere tapping their phones trying to pay and holding everyone up when it doesn't work.
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Old Sep 15, 2014, 4:39 pm
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Originally Posted by weave
But I have my doubts because I think it's a terminal/merchant/provider issue and instead of just me looking like an idiot, soon there's going to be a plethora of Apple users holding up lines everywhere tapping their phones trying to pay and holding everyone up when it doesn't work.
Yup, exactly, it is a merchant issue. Newer terminals with built-in contactless greatly reduce what can go wrong, though.
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Old Sep 15, 2014, 5:48 pm
  #14  
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Apple to reportedly net 15 cents for every $100 Apple Pay transaction
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Old Sep 15, 2014, 7:47 pm
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Originally Posted by weave
I've been using Google Wallet for about a year now at Walgreens. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When it works, it's cool and cashiers are always impressed and ask me questions.

When it doesn't work, I look like an idiot. I sit there tapping my phone and nothing happens, or it vibrates a little and still nothing happens. And the cashier scowls and says "that never works" and I'm like "it works sometimes" and then I have to pull out my old fashioned card and swipe it while people behind me look at me with much disapproval for holding things up.

Then there's the time when I pull out my phone and it won't work because I don't have a network signal for some reason. I put in my PIN and the little circle thing just keeps spinning, all the while everyone is looking at you like an idiot. So instead I try to pre-enter my PIN before I get to the check out -- which is kind of stupid when you think about it.

Walgreens is the only place I've used it because it's the only place I've gotten it to work. I've seen the Paywave thing at other places but I've tried and never got it to work, along with the "looking like an idiot" problem. So I stopped even trying now.

It's really a big hassle. Hopefully Apple pulls it off better. If they do, they deserve to walk all over Google's implementation. Because frankly it sucks. But I have my doubts because I think it's a terminal/merchant/provider issue and instead of just me looking like an idiot, soon there's going to be a plethora of Apple users holding up lines everywhere tapping their phones trying to pay and holding everyone up when it doesn't work.
Well I understand that feeling, as I've had one issue with a Walgreens, but that was right before they had contactless completely up and this CVS with older terminals has not been working too well either lately. Are you using the same register each time and its working on and off, or different ones, as one may be broken. My Mcdonalds has always worked but one of the registers is a bit buggy but still works, but I haven't tested contactless payments at other Mcdonald's. The local Whole Foods just got brand new Verifone MX915 terminals and they work perfectly. Home Depot worked perfectly, but they have another one with contactless built into the screen, so it works better. Most places I've tried just work, but a few local places had no idea how to run it so it didn't work, but that is different from broken equipment.
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