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> Phones have displaced paper money and credit cards as the preferred way to pay for a bill at the end of a meal this is 100% unrelatable to me I have never o

> Phones have displaced paper money and credit cards as the preferred way to pay for a bill at the end of a meal this is 100% unrelatable to me I have never once used my phone to pay in a sit-down restaurant. I have only seen someone else use their phone when forced to, such as due to a forgotten wallet, and with much fussing and apologizing

maleldil 1y ago
I just went to mainland Europe over Easter. The only payment method I ever used was my phone (Google Pay). Not just restaurants, but everything. This matched my observations of other people. I withdrew some Euros just in case, but did not use them.
- BartjeD 1y ago
  You live in island Europe? I see people pay with cash in the Netherlands, but half the time it's with card or mobile.
  - BugsJustFindMe 1y ago
    There are some rather notable European islands, but I see no indication that they claimed to live there.
    - BartjeD 1y ago
      (It's a joke)
      - BugsJustFindMe 1y ago
        (Ok, but was it a good one?)
  - mijoharas 1y ago
    It's still a common thing to say in the UK since we used to be island Europe. Speech habits take a while to change.
    - BartjeD 1y ago
      Hahaha
    - rsynnott 1y ago
      Also in Ireland, where we still are Island Europe.
    - shawabawa3 1y ago
      The UK is still part of "Europe" the geographical region even if it's no longer part of the EU
lowkj 1y ago
Do you ever use your phone to pay anywhere? It's possible the process has evolved since you last used it. I use Apple Pay for 99% of all transactions and it's by far the fastest, most convenient for all parties method. They ask how I want to pay, I say credit, I double click the side of my phone and wave it over the reader. The entire process takes approximately 2 seconds. Sometimes when traveling my credit card will get blocked and only then is there much fussing and apologizing as I attempt to find cash or pay with a physical credit card.
- reactordev 1y ago
  I think it's an age thing. Most of us that were around prior to the iPhone still whip out plastic to pay for things as it's been formed habit for so long.
  - sundaeofshock 1y ago
    I’m 58 and use my Apple Watch for pretty much everything. I only carry a single card for those rare times where I enter an establishment that does not have a chip reader. I love it not only for convenience, but for the security as well. I don’t have to worry about a potential pickpocket seeing where I keep my wallet or how much cash is on me. I keep my transit pass on my watch for the same reason.
    - lucyjojo 1y ago
      i'm 38 and pretty much only use cash.
  - rsynnott 1y ago
    I was about 30 when Apple Pay/Google Pay showed up; I use it fairly exclusively now. If nothing else it is much _faster_. (Before that I was mostly using card-based tap-to-pay, but that has the disadvantage that there's a limit both on transaction size and on transactions since last validation, after which it requires pin validation. The phone-based solution don't have this; being able to unlock the phone satisfies the PSD2 requirements.)
el_benhameen 1y ago
This has been my experience in the US, too. I was in Vancouver a few weeks ago, though, and tap to pay was universal there. Even at nice restaurants, the waiter would bring a Square terminal to the table. It really sped things up at the end of the meal, and I liked it.
- abcd_f 1y ago
  The less time people have for the 25+% suggested tip amounts to sink in the better I guess.
Spunkie 1y ago
Same for me, completely unrelatable. I know this is a bit of a bubble but all my friends that have androids have them rooted, so paying with our phones isn't even an option.
JohnFen 1y ago
I agree. I'm not sure I've ever even seen someone paying their restaurant bill with their phone.
- signatoremo 1y ago
  I almost always pay my restaurant bills with my phone. Have been the case for maybe two years.
tauntz 1y ago
That really depends on where you live I guess. Random anecdote from Estonia. I noticed around a year ago that I'm getting old - I was the only person in a restaurant that used his card to pay - everybody else used either their watch or phone. Since then, I've also upgraded/downgraded and started to use my phone for payments.. just because I don't wanna be _that_ dinosaur. It's not always like that though - you still have lots of people using credit cards (or rarely cash) in grocery stores etc, but it does seem much more common for _the elderly_, like me, 40+ :P
- BrandoElFollito 1y ago
  It seems though that Estonia is at the bleeding edge of digitalization (at least compared to France where we are in the 17th century in comparison). I will check myself in May when I spend a week in Tallin :)
- neuralRiot 1y ago
  >just because I don't wanna be _that_ dinosaur. You need to get a little bit older, eventually you’ll find amusing to be the dinosaur surrounded by sheeps.
barnas2 1y ago
Some restaurants here in the US print a QR code on the check now. If you've got google pay/apple pay/whatever you can just scan it and immediately pay, then leave. There's also a few where you don't even need a server to order, you scan a code on the menu and can order whatever, a server delivers it, then you pay whenever and leave. It makes it really convenient when you go in with a bigger group. No worries about splitting bills, making sure everyone is ready to order, etc. Everyone can just order what they want, when they want, and all pay and leave when they want.
- mysterydip 1y ago
  Is a tip still expected in that case?
  - dzhiurgis 1y ago
    A fuck-you solution would be - QR code includes tip, but you can wait for waiter if you don't wanna tip (or wanna tip more)
rsynnott 1y ago
In general, I don't routinely carry a credit/debit card anymore; only exception is when I'm in the US, where it's still somewhat common to find swipe-only setups. I do normally carry a small amount of emergency paper money; if I'm visiting somewhere where paying with paper money is normal/preferred/mandatory (notably Germany), I'll have more. But for normal usage, why would I carry around a card to tap on terminals when I can just tap a phone on them instead? I think the US is possibly slightly behind the curve here because mobile terminals are a fairly new thing there; they mostly became common with Apple/Google Pay, so about ten years ago. In most of Europe, chip and pin became largely mandatory around the turn of the century, so people taking your card out the back to process it was no longer an option, and they pretty much had to have a solution that could come to the payer anyway.
red-iron-pine 1y ago
never once used my phone either. arguably, I don't want to. I have a credit card, I have cash. I have no reason to use a phone esp. in a situation where I have people literally waiting on me. why do I tip these people if I have to do it all myself? might as well just order at the counter using my phone
- chneu 1y ago
  You don't have to tip. Believe it or not, most servers/staff at restaurants that do QR code and self-bussing don't care if you tip.
mort96 1y ago
Hm? It's literally double tapping the side button on my phone and holding it near their payment terminal for half a second until it says beep, exactly like with a debit card just slightly more convenient. Why would there be any fussing or apologising
insane_dreamer 1y ago
I never carry cash with me. I almost always pay with my phone using tap. Some restaurants have a fully online payment system where you get the bill on your phone and pay from there through some online payment system. I've seen this at airport restaurants, where it makes sense as you may be in a hurry and don't want to have to wait to get the server's attention. I wouldn't like it at normal sit-down restaurants in other situations. I don't think this is a technology problem. There are lots of lo-tech ways of signaling that would like the cheque.
BrandoElFollito 1y ago
Where are you? Even in a country as backwards banking wise as France I wrote say that 50% of people pay digitally, 49.9% cc and 0.1% cash.
beAbU 1y ago
Since moving to Ireland 2 years ago, I've maybe had to reach for my wallet maybe 5 times in total. These days it remains in the car or forgotten at home. I pay for evertything with my phone.
dmd 1y ago
Where do you live? Nearly every sit down restaurant I have gone to for the last year or so, the waiter has come to the table with a portable tap-to-pay.
kyriakos 1y ago
I haven't used a card or cash to pay at a restaurant during the last 5 years. It really depends where you are located.
zzo38computer 1y ago
I had never used phones to pay, or been with others who had used phones to pay, either. When I pay by myself I always pay in cash, although I am usually with someone else who wants to pay by credit card (or sometimes by debit card). A signal does not seem needed though since they will just tell them they are ready and then will pay immediately when they have the bill ready. When I am by myself, I will pay in cash and I will try to pay in advance when I can (which has other advantages as well, such as to know the price and if I have the money to pay).

maleldil 1y ago

I just went to mainland Europe over Easter. The only payment method I ever used was my phone (Google Pay). Not just restaurants, but everything. This matched my observations of other people. I withdrew some Euros just in case, but did not use them.

BartjeD 1y ago
You live in island Europe? I see people pay with cash in the Netherlands, but half the time it's with card or mobile.
- BugsJustFindMe 1y ago
  There are some rather notable European islands, but I see no indication that they claimed to live there.
  - BartjeD 1y ago
    (It's a joke)
    - BugsJustFindMe 1y ago
      (Ok, but was it a good one?)
- mijoharas 1y ago
  It's still a common thing to say in the UK since we used to be island Europe. Speech habits take a while to change.
  - BartjeD 1y ago
    Hahaha
  - rsynnott 1y ago
    Also in Ireland, where we still are Island Europe.
  - shawabawa3 1y ago
    The UK is still part of "Europe" the geographical region even if it's no longer part of the EU

lowkj 1y ago

Do you ever use your phone to pay anywhere? It's possible the process has evolved since you last used it. I use Apple Pay for 99% of all transactions and it's by far the fastest, most convenient for all parties method. They ask how I want to pay, I say credit, I double click the side of my phone and wave it over the reader. The entire process takes approximately 2 seconds. Sometimes when traveling my credit card will get blocked and only then is there much fussing and apologizing as I attempt to find cash or pay with a physical credit card.

reactordev 1y ago
I think it's an age thing. Most of us that were around prior to the iPhone still whip out plastic to pay for things as it's been formed habit for so long.
- sundaeofshock 1y ago
  I’m 58 and use my Apple Watch for pretty much everything. I only carry a single card for those rare times where I enter an establishment that does not have a chip reader. I love it not only for convenience, but for the security as well. I don’t have to worry about a potential pickpocket seeing where I keep my wallet or how much cash is on me. I keep my transit pass on my watch for the same reason.
  - lucyjojo 1y ago
    i'm 38 and pretty much only use cash.
- rsynnott 1y ago
  I was about 30 when Apple Pay/Google Pay showed up; I use it fairly exclusively now. If nothing else it is much _faster_. (Before that I was mostly using card-based tap-to-pay, but that has the disadvantage that there's a limit both on transaction size and on transactions since last validation, after which it requires pin validation. The phone-based solution don't have this; being able to unlock the phone satisfies the PSD2 requirements.)

el_benhameen 1y ago

This has been my experience in the US, too. I was in Vancouver a few weeks ago, though, and tap to pay was universal there. Even at nice restaurants, the waiter would bring a Square terminal to the table. It really sped things up at the end of the meal, and I liked it.

abcd_f 1y ago
The less time people have for the 25+% suggested tip amounts to sink in the better I guess.

Spunkie 1y ago

Same for me, completely unrelatable. I know this is a bit of a bubble but all my friends that have androids have them rooted, so paying with our phones isn't even an option.

JohnFen 1y ago

I agree. I'm not sure I've ever even seen someone paying their restaurant bill with their phone.

signatoremo 1y ago
I almost always pay my restaurant bills with my phone. Have been the case for maybe two years.

tauntz 1y ago

That really depends on where you live I guess. Random anecdote from Estonia. I noticed around a year ago that I'm getting old - I was the only person in a restaurant that used his card to pay - everybody else used either their watch or phone. Since then, I've also upgraded/downgraded and started to use my phone for payments.. just because I don't wanna be _that_ dinosaur. It's not always like that though - you still have lots of people using credit cards (or rarely cash) in grocery stores etc, but it does seem much more common for _the elderly_, like me, 40+ :P

BrandoElFollito 1y ago
It seems though that Estonia is at the bleeding edge of digitalization (at least compared to France where we are in the 17th century in comparison). I will check myself in May when I spend a week in Tallin :)
neuralRiot 1y ago
>just because I don't wanna be _that_ dinosaur. You need to get a little bit older, eventually you’ll find amusing to be the dinosaur surrounded by sheeps.

barnas2 1y ago

Some restaurants here in the US print a QR code on the check now. If you've got google pay/apple pay/whatever you can just scan it and immediately pay, then leave. There's also a few where you don't even need a server to order, you scan a code on the menu and can order whatever, a server delivers it, then you pay whenever and leave. It makes it really convenient when you go in with a bigger group. No worries about splitting bills, making sure everyone is ready to order, etc. Everyone can just order what they want, when they want, and all pay and leave when they want.

mysterydip 1y ago
Is a tip still expected in that case?
- dzhiurgis 1y ago
  A fuck-you solution would be - QR code includes tip, but you can wait for waiter if you don't wanna tip (or wanna tip more)

rsynnott 1y ago

In general, I don't routinely carry a credit/debit card anymore; only exception is when I'm in the US, where it's still somewhat common to find swipe-only setups. I do normally carry a small amount of emergency paper money; if I'm visiting somewhere where paying with paper money is normal/preferred/mandatory (notably Germany), I'll have more. But for normal usage, why would I carry around a card to tap on terminals when I can just tap a phone on them instead? I think the US is possibly slightly behind the curve here because mobile terminals are a fairly new thing there; they mostly became common with Apple/Google Pay, so about ten years ago. In most of Europe, chip and pin became largely mandatory around the turn of the century, so people taking your card out the back to process it was no longer an option, and they pretty much had to have a solution that could come to the payer anyway.

red-iron-pine 1y ago

never once used my phone either. arguably, I don't want to. I have a credit card, I have cash. I have no reason to use a phone esp. in a situation where I have people literally waiting on me. why do I tip these people if I have to do it all myself? might as well just order at the counter using my phone

chneu 1y ago
You don't have to tip. Believe it or not, most servers/staff at restaurants that do QR code and self-bussing don't care if you tip.

mort96 1y ago

Hm? It's literally double tapping the side button on my phone and holding it near their payment terminal for half a second until it says beep, exactly like with a debit card just slightly more convenient. Why would there be any fussing or apologising

insane_dreamer 1y ago

I never carry cash with me. I almost always pay with my phone using tap. Some restaurants have a fully online payment system where you get the bill on your phone and pay from there through some online payment system. I've seen this at airport restaurants, where it makes sense as you may be in a hurry and don't want to have to wait to get the server's attention. I wouldn't like it at normal sit-down restaurants in other situations. I don't think this is a technology problem. There are lots of lo-tech ways of signaling that would like the cheque.

BrandoElFollito 1y ago

Where are you? Even in a country as backwards banking wise as France I wrote say that 50% of people pay digitally, 49.9% cc and 0.1% cash.

beAbU 1y ago

Since moving to Ireland 2 years ago, I've maybe had to reach for my wallet maybe 5 times in total. These days it remains in the car or forgotten at home. I pay for evertything with my phone.

dmd 1y ago

Where do you live? Nearly every sit down restaurant I have gone to for the last year or so, the waiter has come to the table with a portable tap-to-pay.

kyriakos 1y ago

I haven't used a card or cash to pay at a restaurant during the last 5 years. It really depends where you are located.

zzo38computer 1y ago

I had never used phones to pay, or been with others who had used phones to pay, either. When I pay by myself I always pay in cash, although I am usually with someone else who wants to pay by credit card (or sometimes by debit card). A signal does not seem needed though since they will just tell them they are ready and then will pay immediately when they have the bill ready. When I am by myself, I will pay in cash and I will try to pay in advance when I can (which has other advantages as well, such as to know the price and if I have the money to pay).