4 ms·

During this last summer in Europe, I used ApplePay literally everywhere I went, even for the smallest purchases. A few places in Berlin -- more than smaller cit

During this last summer in Europe, I used ApplePay literally everywhere I went, even for the smallest purchases. A few places in Berlin -- more than smaller cities -- held on to "cash only", particularly the cafe around the corner from my Airbnb where I got coffee every morning. But all the restaurants I visited have shifted to bringing the portable pay unit for tap-and-pay at the table, which I much prefer to leaving the card on the bill in the US and having it disappear for a moment while they ring you up at the central POS (still the standard practice in the US places I live near). But: complaining about the trackability of digital payments while ignoring the lack of tracking built into the prominent platforms, and also decrying the overreach of digital legislation in Europe ("GDPR made things worse") feels like wanting cake and eating it too. I never, ever use cash anymore... though I keep a few bills in the wallet for emergencies.

teddyh 4y ago
> But: complaining about the trackability of digital payments while ignoring the lack of tracking built into the prominent platforms, and also decrying the overreach of digital legislation in Europe ("GDPR made things worse") feels like wanting cake and eating it too. 1. Accusations of hypocrisy is not an argument. 2. How can you claim that “the prominent platforms” lack tracking? Nobody could say for sure, except a few people, whom the rest of us can’t really trust. 3. People in Europe are also complaining about the trackability of digital payments. And those people also tend to like the GDPR.
jeroenhd 4y ago
> But all the restaurants I visited have shifted to bringing the portable pay unit for tap-and-pay at the table, which I much prefer to leaving the card on the bill in the US and having it disappear for a moment while they ring you up at the central POS (still the standard practice in the US places I live near). Perhaps offtopic, but that's such a ridiculously scary concept to me. I was already nervous when in another country the person behind the register took my card to swipe it for me, I don't think I would ever let them just take my card!
- spoils19 4y ago
  This comment is arguably bordering on anti-Americanism. This method has worked well for us for decades, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
  - jeroenhd 4y ago
    Payment culture differs between countries and just because I'm uncomfortable with the American way of doing things doesn't mean the American way is necessarily bad. I'm used to not handing out my credit card for payment like I'm used to not handing out my wallet to pay. I'd love to live in a culture where I could trust random people to take my wallet, take only what I'm due, and then not abuse that trust.

teddyh 4y ago

> But: complaining about the trackability of digital payments while ignoring the lack of tracking built into the prominent platforms, and also decrying the overreach of digital legislation in Europe ("GDPR made things worse") feels like wanting cake and eating it too. 1. Accusations of hypocrisy is not an argument. 2. How can you claim that “the prominent platforms” lack tracking? Nobody could say for sure, except a few people, whom the rest of us can’t really trust. 3. People in Europe are also complaining about the trackability of digital payments. And those people also tend to like the GDPR.

jeroenhd 4y ago

> But all the restaurants I visited have shifted to bringing the portable pay unit for tap-and-pay at the table, which I much prefer to leaving the card on the bill in the US and having it disappear for a moment while they ring you up at the central POS (still the standard practice in the US places I live near). Perhaps offtopic, but that's such a ridiculously scary concept to me. I was already nervous when in another country the person behind the register took my card to swipe it for me, I don't think I would ever let them just take my card!

spoils19 4y ago
This comment is arguably bordering on anti-Americanism. This method has worked well for us for decades, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
- jeroenhd 4y ago
  Payment culture differs between countries and just because I'm uncomfortable with the American way of doing things doesn't mean the American way is necessarily bad. I'm used to not handing out my credit card for payment like I'm used to not handing out my wallet to pay. I'd love to live in a culture where I could trust random people to take my wallet, take only what I'm due, and then not abuse that trust.