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Say hello to contactless https://www.visa.co.uk/products/visa-contactless/ https://www.visa.co.uk/products/visa-contactless/ Standard on most bank cards in the

Say hello to contactless https://www.visa.co.uk/products/visa-contactless/ https://www.visa.co.uk/products/visa-contactless/ Standard on most bank cards in the UK. No pin or anything. Tap it on the machine and you go. Takes 2 seconds at most. Still, I do hold cash sometimes, you do need it in some cases.

aembleton 9y ago
I'm sure I've used this in Germany many times at Lidl and other supermarkets.
- TillE 9y ago
  NFC payment has been rolling out more and more over the past couple years. Edeka is probably the biggest exception, I'm waiting very impatiently for them to catch up.
  - germanier 9y ago
    Edeka is (despite its appearance) not a chain but just a common brand used by lots of independent merchants without many rules[0]. Some Edeka stores therefore introduced contactless payments years ago, some never will. Best is to talk to the owner (they usually just have one or a few stores) – I have been successful with "mine". [0]: In contrast to e.g. Rewe which is also mostly operated by independent merchants but has strict rules for those.
ThatGeoGuy 9y ago
Further to this, I've actually found in Canada I use Android Pay more and more often now that it's available. The whole country is shifting to contactless and it's incredibly useful to just be able to pull out my phone and make a purchase. It's faster, and the app gives a list of the purchases you've made with a card, so I can track what I'm spending relatively easily. Unfortunately, there are still lots of stores that haven't upgraded to contactless yet, which means I can't rely on Android pay for the time being. I can see this being much worse in Europe where contactless payments aren't implemented in many more places than here in Canada.
herbst 9y ago
It's super fun and easy. But A) there is a risk as everyone can create a stripe account and buy a charger. Personally I would never notice. B) every transaction creates costs. Some visible (depit charging fee) some hidden (credit transaction fee) C) At least in most of Europe it is far from widely supported, even thought it's growing for a while now. Except you stick to the most touristy places that is. In south east Asia I haven't seen it at all except in tourist focused places.
- taway_1212 9y ago
  > A) there is a risk as everyone can create a stripe account and buy a charger. Personally I would never notice. Personally, the convenience of: not having to wear a wallet at all (I just carry the card in my pocket) and not having to deal with coins, negotiate if I'm paying a big bill etc. is just amazing. Even if someone steals $10 from me once in a blue moon, it's well worth it.
  - herbst 9y ago
    For me it's a different world anyway. Currently I carry about $300 in 4 currencies, a debit card and a credit card. I travel a lot and without a stack like this I would have been stuck many times. The credit card never really saved me. It really just is there to make life a little easier.
    - alasdair_ 9y ago
      I just got back from a four-country trip (3 currencies) and having a credit card was very useful for hotels and car rental places that want to "pre-authorize" charges (often 250 EUR or more). When I tried using my debit card and they ended up taking the money and then refunding it over a week later.
      - herbst 9y ago
        Good point. I don't drive car but in western countries I basically had to pay the bikes worth as deposit because I didn't carry a credit card. Plus this was seen as super unusual (even having a this high euro amount on hand was seen as suspect)

aembleton 9y ago

I'm sure I've used this in Germany many times at Lidl and other supermarkets.

TillE 9y ago
NFC payment has been rolling out more and more over the past couple years. Edeka is probably the biggest exception, I'm waiting very impatiently for them to catch up.
- germanier 9y ago
  Edeka is (despite its appearance) not a chain but just a common brand used by lots of independent merchants without many rules[0]. Some Edeka stores therefore introduced contactless payments years ago, some never will. Best is to talk to the owner (they usually just have one or a few stores) – I have been successful with "mine". [0]: In contrast to e.g. Rewe which is also mostly operated by independent merchants but has strict rules for those.

ThatGeoGuy 9y ago

Further to this, I've actually found in Canada I use Android Pay more and more often now that it's available. The whole country is shifting to contactless and it's incredibly useful to just be able to pull out my phone and make a purchase. It's faster, and the app gives a list of the purchases you've made with a card, so I can track what I'm spending relatively easily. Unfortunately, there are still lots of stores that haven't upgraded to contactless yet, which means I can't rely on Android pay for the time being. I can see this being much worse in Europe where contactless payments aren't implemented in many more places than here in Canada.

herbst 9y ago

It's super fun and easy. But A) there is a risk as everyone can create a stripe account and buy a charger. Personally I would never notice. B) every transaction creates costs. Some visible (depit charging fee) some hidden (credit transaction fee) C) At least in most of Europe it is far from widely supported, even thought it's growing for a while now. Except you stick to the most touristy places that is. In south east Asia I haven't seen it at all except in tourist focused places.

taway_1212 9y ago
> A) there is a risk as everyone can create a stripe account and buy a charger. Personally I would never notice. Personally, the convenience of: not having to wear a wallet at all (I just carry the card in my pocket) and not having to deal with coins, negotiate if I'm paying a big bill etc. is just amazing. Even if someone steals $10 from me once in a blue moon, it's well worth it.
- herbst 9y ago
  For me it's a different world anyway. Currently I carry about $300 in 4 currencies, a debit card and a credit card. I travel a lot and without a stack like this I would have been stuck many times. The credit card never really saved me. It really just is there to make life a little easier.
  - alasdair_ 9y ago
    I just got back from a four-country trip (3 currencies) and having a credit card was very useful for hotels and car rental places that want to "pre-authorize" charges (often 250 EUR or more). When I tried using my debit card and they ended up taking the money and then refunding it over a week later.
    - herbst 9y ago
      Good point. I don't drive car but in western countries I basically had to pay the bikes worth as deposit because I didn't carry a credit card. Plus this was seen as super unusual (even having a this high euro amount on hand was seen as suspect)