4 ms·
"It's not a question of whether people at a payment terminal would prefer to tap or swipe, he said, but a reality that people don't want to go to a payment term
by brownbat 13y ago
"It's not a question of whether people at a payment terminal would prefer to tap or swipe, he said, but a reality that people don't want to go to a payment terminal at all."
I think this is right. The amazing future doesn't change what I get out of my pocket. The amazing future lets me walk into a store and just walk out with things without stopping, while some computers in the background just make sure all accounts are settled.
- JimmaDaRustla 13y agoTruth be told, merchants don't want that risk. Merchants don't even want NFC - they want payment to be made securely and not have negative impact on their customers.
- seiji 13y agoApple Stores allow you to walk in, scan an item with your phone's camera, pay, put the item in your backpack, then walk out without talking to anybody. There's a limit ($200 max on phone self-checkout), but they don't seem concerned with shrink.
- ceejayoz 13y agoIncidentally, it's really freaky to see this happen.
- JimmaDaRustla 13y agoI work in the smart card payment industry for a large north american bank. I've been in conferences with actual merchants voicing their concerns. I didn't make my observations sitting at Starbucks.
- seiji 13y agoStarbucks is a great example of another company that allows payment without a card or NFC, though you still go through the checkout person.
- JimmaDaRustla 13y agoAnd also more secure than traditional payment methods since it is prepaid and the merchant is guaranteed not to be frauded. What merchants don't want, typically, is added customer convenience to payment methods IF it adds additional risk for fraud. EMV Chip has been a huge success, and NFC is kind of a step backward because anyone can steal a NFC chip card and make small purchases, which means merchants still need to dispute fraud charges.
- richardlblair 13y agoI have an idea! Let's make broad statements based off the actions of a company with massive amounts of Cash on Hand. Consider that most merchants don't have much of any cash. I know it's hard to believe because your world revolves around Starbucks and Apple, but put the iDevice down for a second and join the rest of reality. Merchants don't want risk. I know of merchants that do reasonably well, and a single chargeback is a real piss off. They (chargebacks) don't just cost money (you are out the money and the product), they also cost time if you try to dispute it.
- VLM 13y ago"a reality that people don't want to go to a payment terminal at all" I had to read that section about three times because I interpreted that as "amazon app, box arrives on doorstep in two days, cheaper than in store (store aka showroom)" That's pretty much how I shop now. Going out and paying more is already an inconvenience, waving something around, or not, is already a rounding error of the total sum of inconvenience.