I've tried using Apple Pay a few times here in the UK and have gone back to my credit card which has NFC built in.
Out of the 7 transactions I tried with Apple Pay only 3 went through without a hitch.
Twice I had to put my card in anyway to "verify the payment method" and the other two times my iPhone showed done but the cashier confirmed that the transaction hadn't gone through.
I really wanted to love Apple Pay and can see how it would be a bit of a revelation in a county like the USA that was so far behind in terms of banking technology, chip & pin and contact less payments etc, but my NFC debit/credit cards almost never fail and don't need to be held against the NFC terminal nearly as long as my phone.
I'll try it again next year, maybe improvements will have been brought in by then.
It's great in the UK to pay for the tube using the Apple Watch. It is inconvenient for all other payments.
The reason is simply that when you take out a credit card, the cashiers see this and instinctively enable the card reader. The displays then shows whether you can tap or need to insert the card.
If you want to use a phone or watch, you need to tell the cashier, and then half the time the credit card reader does not accept contactles and you have to put the phone away and take the credit card out. The process is not slick.
It's also cumbersome to switch credit cards on Apple Pay: click to turn the phone on, rest finger for home screen, flick to get to Passbook, tap to open, tap to chose credit cards, tap again to change card, rest finger for authentication.
With real cards: flip wallet open, pick card, yell and give chase to the thief that just grabbed your stuff and ran..
Well it is clear that the Australia banks don't have their customers best interest in their heart. Apple Pay is such a convenience revolution that any bank who cares about its customers would beg and rush to implement it fees be damned.
I've tried using Apple Pay a few times here in the UK and have gone back to my credit card which has NFC built in.
Out of the 7 transactions I tried with Apple Pay only 3 went through without a hitch.
Twice I had to put my card in anyway to "verify the payment method" and the other two times my iPhone showed done but the cashier confirmed that the transaction hadn't gone through.
I really wanted to love Apple Pay and can see how it would be a bit of a revelation in a county like the USA that was so far behind in terms of banking technology, chip & pin and contact less payments etc, but my NFC debit/credit cards almost never fail and don't need to be held against the NFC terminal nearly as long as my phone.
I'll try it again next year, maybe improvements will have been brought in by then.
As soon as your preferred retailers are hacked and your information is compromised you'll think twice about Apple Pay and Apple's unequaled security measures.
I've noticed that, especially at the smaller retailers, paying with cash gets you looks of suspicion as much as anything. We occasionally go shopping at an Asian food store where the employees with get out their special little marker, hold the bill up to the light, practically taste-test the thing before they decide it's real. I don't know if they have been burned in the past, or if it is a carryover from their home society, but it's quite a bit faster to pay with a credit card. Bizarre, really. They get more profit from the cash, but don't seem to like getting paid in cash.
As soon as your preferred retailers are hacked and your information is compromised you'll think twice about Apple Pay and Apple's unequaled security measures.
Why would my information be hacked? The retailer has no more data than if I'd used chip and pin. They don't keep my details on some secret file.
Inflation = fees on cash. Loss of investment revenues = fees on cash.
I wasn't saying you should keep all your money in cash under the mattress, just that you could avoid transaction fees and improve anonymity by using cash.
For example instead of using cards everywhere, which tells your bank and/or credit card company everywhere you've been, just take a few hundred out of the bank every Monday, and use that for the rest of the week.
Weird, quaint systems you people have out there. Perhaps the POS terminals are quirky, or payment protocols are. I have no issues at all in the U.S., with retailers who have NFC terminals. It would appear that the system just activates a few seconds after the purchases have been rung in.
I agree that changing the credit card on the iPhone takes a few steps. But most often, people tend to have one default card. On the watch, changing cards is a cinch: just swipe the screen before holding it against the terminal. I don't see why something similar can't be implemented with the phone.
Granted, I wish NFC terminals were ubiquitous, but it's getting there.
I meant that you often don't know if a terminal accepts NFC until the cashier enables it. If you pay with a card, it doesn't not matter as you just insert it if the terminal does not accept NFC. But with a phone, you have to put the phone back and take the card out, annoying. Also, punching in a 4-digit PIN is actually less awkward than holding your finger on the home button.
This is just my feedback of user experience with ApplePay. It's nice to have in case you left your wallet in the office, or when you are at the beach, but it's not more convenient than cards. So it's an addition rather than a replacement.
As soon as your preferred retailers are hacked and your information is compromised you'll think twice about Apple Pay and Apple's unequaled security measures.
If that happened, the banks would wear the cost, not you. Chip and and Pin has only been compromised a couple of times by very sophisticated methods and they were shut down quickly and the flaws that allowed the hack were patched. Pure FUD on your part
I meant that you often don't know if a terminal accepts NFC until the cashier enables it. If you pay with a card, it doesn't not matter as you just insert it if the terminal does not accept NFC. But with a phone, you have to put the phone back and take the card out, annoying. Also, punching in a 4-digit PIN is actually less awkward than holding your finger on the home button.
The difference is that someone can't look over your shoulder to see your Touch ID...
Once Apple gets enough traction from ApplePay they will open up their own bank.
No they won't, because then they would have to provide and pay for their own infrastructure instead of getting a free ride on other people's infrastructure and asking to be paid for doing so. It would be far more advantageous for them to buy Vodafone and have their own phone network.
The difference is that someone can't look over your shoulder to see your Touch ID...
Again, never once happend to me nor to anyone I know. Ever.
Listen, Apple Pay is not bad, it may find its place as a complement to cards. For example, I may leave some of the cards I hardly ever use at home. But there will always be places that don't accept it so you have to carry your main card with you anyway. I don't see it as more convenient. Which is odd because other solutions, such as the Starbucks card, actually is!
It's great in the UK to pay for the tube using the Apple Watch. It is inconvenient for all other payments.
The reason is simply that when you take out a credit card, the cashiers see this and instinctively enable the card reader. The displays then shows whether you can tap or need to insert the card.
If you want to use a phone or watch, you need to tell the cashier, and then half the time the credit card reader does not accept contactles and you have to put the phone away and take the credit card out. The process is not slick.
It's also cumbersome to switch credit cards on Apple Pay: click to turn the phone on, rest finger for home screen, flick to get to Passbook, tap to open, tap to chose credit cards, tap again to change card, rest finger for authentication.
With real cards: flip wallet open, pick card.
At least now payment by Apple Watch is much simpler than via iPhone. Double-click wide button, stretch arm towards reader. Done.
Why are Aussies being such dicks of late? What happened to all that hang-loose bonhomie their national PR has always fronted? They are Apple's weenie on the barbie instead of their steak.
Comments
L
I've tried using Apple Pay a few times here in the UK and have gone back to my credit card which has NFC built in.
Out of the 7 transactions I tried with Apple Pay only 3 went through without a hitch.
Twice I had to put my card in anyway to "verify the payment method" and the other two times my iPhone showed done but the cashier confirmed that the transaction hadn't gone through.
I really wanted to love Apple Pay and can see how it would be a bit of a revelation in a county like the USA that was so far behind in terms of banking technology, chip & pin and contact less payments etc, but my NFC debit/credit cards almost never fail and don't need to be held against the NFC terminal nearly as long as my phone.
I'll try it again next year, maybe improvements will have been brought in by then.
It's great in the UK to pay for the tube using the Apple Watch. It is inconvenient for all other payments.
The reason is simply that when you take out a credit card, the cashiers see this and instinctively enable the card reader. The displays then shows whether you can tap or need to insert the card.
If you want to use a phone or watch, you need to tell the cashier, and then half the time the credit card reader does not accept contactles and you have to put the phone away and take the credit card out. The process is not slick.
It's also cumbersome to switch credit cards on Apple Pay: click to turn the phone on, rest finger for home screen, flick to get to Passbook, tap to open, tap to chose credit cards, tap again to change card, rest finger for authentication.
With real cards: flip wallet open, pick card, yell and give chase to the thief that just grabbed your stuff and ran..
Edited that last line for you.
Well it is clear that the Australia banks don't have their customers best interest in their heart. Apple Pay is such a convenience revolution that any bank who cares about its customers would beg and rush to implement it fees be damned.
Oh, I see what you did there.
0% fees, 100% anonymous
If mugged, you lose 100% of what you are carrying.
With the notable exception of people with a concealed-carry license.
As soon as your preferred retailers are hacked and your information is compromised you'll think twice about Apple Pay and Apple's unequaled security measures.
0% fees, 100% anonymous
I've noticed that, especially at the smaller retailers, paying with cash gets you looks of suspicion as much as anything. We occasionally go shopping at an Asian food store where the employees with get out their special little marker, hold the bill up to the light, practically taste-test the thing before they decide it's real. I don't know if they have been burned in the past, or if it is a carryover from their home society, but it's quite a bit faster to pay with a credit card. Bizarre, really. They get more profit from the cash, but don't seem to like getting paid in cash.
0% fees, 100% anonymous
Inflation = fees on cash. Loss of investment revenues = fees on cash.
Still, I kinda agree with you. Seems kind of lose-lose.
Make no mistake:
Once Apple gets enough traction from ApplePay they will open up their own bank.
Or maybe just their own credit card company, as opposed to a whole bank?
Inflation = fees on cash. Loss of investment revenues = fees on cash.
I wasn't saying you should keep all your money in cash under the mattress, just that you could avoid transaction fees and improve anonymity by using cash.
For example instead of using cards everywhere, which tells your bank and/or credit card company everywhere you've been, just take a few hundred out of the bank every Monday, and use that for the rest of the week.
I meant that you often don't know if a terminal accepts NFC until the cashier enables it. If you pay with a card, it doesn't not matter as you just insert it if the terminal does not accept NFC. But with a phone, you have to put the phone back and take the card out, annoying. Also, punching in a 4-digit PIN is actually less awkward than holding your finger on the home button.
This is just my feedback of user experience with ApplePay. It's nice to have in case you left your wallet in the office, or when you are at the beach, but it's not more convenient than cards. So it's an addition rather than a replacement.
That has actually never once happened to me nor to anyone I know. Ever.
As soon as your preferred retailers are hacked and your information is compromised you'll think twice about Apple Pay and Apple's unequaled security measures.
If that happened, the banks would wear the cost, not you. Chip and and Pin has only been compromised a couple of times by very sophisticated methods and they were shut down quickly and the flaws that allowed the hack were patched. Pure FUD on your part
I can't imagine why stuff is more expensive in Australia vs the rest of the world... /s
I meant that you often don't know if a terminal accepts NFC until the cashier enables it. If you pay with a card, it doesn't not matter as you just insert it if the terminal does not accept NFC. But with a phone, you have to put the phone back and take the card out, annoying. Also, punching in a 4-digit PIN is actually less awkward than holding your finger on the home button.
The difference is that someone can't look over your shoulder to see your Touch ID...
Make no mistake:
Once Apple gets enough traction from ApplePay they will open up their own bank.
No they won't, because then they would have to provide and pay for their own infrastructure instead of getting a free ride on other people's infrastructure and asking to be paid for doing so. It would be far more advantageous for them to buy Vodafone and have their own phone network.
I can't imagine why stuff is more expensive in Australia vs the rest of the world... /s
It isn't. About the only things really overpriced in the Australian economy are housing and wages.
Again, never once happend to me nor to anyone I know. Ever.
Listen, Apple Pay is not bad, it may find its place as a complement to cards. For example, I may leave some of the cards I hardly ever use at home. But there will always be places that don't accept it so you have to carry your main card with you anyway. I don't see it as more convenient. Which is odd because other solutions, such as the Starbucks card, actually is!
L
It's great in the UK to pay for the tube using the Apple Watch. It is inconvenient for all other payments.
The reason is simply that when you take out a credit card, the cashiers see this and instinctively enable the card reader. The displays then shows whether you can tap or need to insert the card.
If you want to use a phone or watch, you need to tell the cashier, and then half the time the credit card reader does not accept contactles and you have to put the phone away and take the credit card out. The process is not slick.
It's also cumbersome to switch credit cards on Apple Pay: click to turn the phone on, rest finger for home screen, flick to get to Passbook, tap to open, tap to chose credit cards, tap again to change card, rest finger for authentication.
With real cards: flip wallet open, pick card.
At least now payment by Apple Watch is much simpler than via iPhone. Double-click wide button, stretch arm towards reader. Done.