9 ms·

Cash is fast. Traditional direct debit payment takes around 20 seconds or so. An experienced cashier is much faster in giving you your change if you pay cash.

Cash is fast. Traditional direct debit payment takes around 20 seconds or so. An experienced cashier is much faster in giving you your change if you pay cash. There is a newish "instant" payment with NFC chips, that doesn't require a PIN or a signature if you pay less than 20 €. It's much faster (maybe 5 seconds?), but it's not available everywhere yet. Certainly not at shops where you typically only spend small amounts (bakery, small Asian fast-food places etc.).

davidivadavid 8y ago
From what I can see, contactless payment is much more common in North America, and the limits are higher (< $100 in Canada, IIRC).
leokennis 8y ago
Really? Reeaallly? When not paying contactless (which takes less than 5 seconds like you mentioned), paying by debit card takes 6 seconds: enter card, mash 4 number PIN, push OK. And after that 0 seconds spent on change, fumbling with bills and coins etc. What I noticed in Germany though, is that many store clerks insist on taking your card, then putting it in the machine, handing it to you, then take it back from you when you’ve entered the PIN. Yes, if you do it 1920’s style then it takes longer than a cash transaction...
- perlgeek 8y ago
  > Really? Reeaallly? Yes, unfortunately. I don't know if many shops have shitty Internet connection (sometimes the card reader even displays "ISDN dialup" in the status field) and/or the online clearing takes so long, but it really is annoyingly slow most of the time.
- kara_jade 8y ago
  > What I noticed in Germany though, is that many store clerks insist on taking your card... That's a service. You'd be surprised how many people are unable to insert the card into the reader correctly.
adrianparsons 8y ago
I noticed this the last time I was in Berlin. A cafe can process a line of 10 people paying cash very quickly.
legulere 8y ago
NFC is just as slow. It’s fast until the payment device accepts my card but then it takes forever until the receipt is printed, the cashier looking really annoyed having to wait while doing nothing.
mrweasel 8y ago
I think it depends on the country. Tap to pay is pretty much everywhere in Denmark, smaller shops included. The limit for when a PIN is required is €40 and as for speed, I would say that your 5 seconds is of by a factor of 5 to 10, it is absolutely instant.

davidivadavid 8y ago

From what I can see, contactless payment is much more common in North America, and the limits are higher (< $100 in Canada, IIRC).

leokennis 8y ago

Really? Reeaallly? When not paying contactless (which takes less than 5 seconds like you mentioned), paying by debit card takes 6 seconds: enter card, mash 4 number PIN, push OK. And after that 0 seconds spent on change, fumbling with bills and coins etc. What I noticed in Germany though, is that many store clerks insist on taking your card, then putting it in the machine, handing it to you, then take it back from you when you’ve entered the PIN. Yes, if you do it 1920’s style then it takes longer than a cash transaction...

perlgeek 8y ago
> Really? Reeaallly? Yes, unfortunately. I don't know if many shops have shitty Internet connection (sometimes the card reader even displays "ISDN dialup" in the status field) and/or the online clearing takes so long, but it really is annoyingly slow most of the time.
kara_jade 8y ago
> What I noticed in Germany though, is that many store clerks insist on taking your card... That's a service. You'd be surprised how many people are unable to insert the card into the reader correctly.

adrianparsons 8y ago

I noticed this the last time I was in Berlin. A cafe can process a line of 10 people paying cash very quickly.

legulere 8y ago

NFC is just as slow. It’s fast until the payment device accepts my card but then it takes forever until the receipt is printed, the cashier looking really annoyed having to wait while doing nothing.

mrweasel 8y ago

I think it depends on the country. Tap to pay is pretty much everywhere in Denmark, smaller shops included. The limit for when a PIN is required is €40 and as for speed, I would say that your 5 seconds is of by a factor of 5 to 10, it is absolutely instant.