Contactless - why?

TartanSaver

Ever since contactless started to become a big thing, I've struggled to understand the point. I've never been in a pub with a contactless reader, and for supermarkets I don't see much difference between contactless and chip & pin.

If I have a contactless card in my wallet, my Lothian bus pass doesn't work without taking it out of my wallet. I also hear numerous tales of payment being taken from the "wrong" card. Like many on here, I have plenty of bank accounts. If all the cards were contactless and someone stole my wallet, they could easily spend £200+ in small transactions.

I guess what I'm asking is: why do people like them? A lot of people post saying they regard contactless as an important feature. What do you use it for?

BoracicLint

Maybe it depends where you use it, but everywhere I go has contactless. It's great at bars and pubs, plus in London it basically replaces an Oyster card on buses and tubes.

reclusive46

BoracicLint wrote: »

Maybe it depends where you use it, but everywhere I go has contactless. It's great at bars and pubs, plus in London it basically replaces an Oyster card on buses and tubes.

This. Most places in Norwich even have contactless and for places that use dial up terminals, the instant authorisation on contactless makes it much quicker.

TartanSaver

Maybe Edinburgh's just behind the the curve with it. The buses don't accept it (as I said, it actively causes problems) and most pubs prefer cash. There's a £10 minimum on cards in a lot of pubs, which would mean even if they took contactless (they don't) your round would have to fall into the £10-20 window.

It's fine for supermarkets, but for smaller businesses I have a suspicion that the processing costs outweigh any perceived benefit of encouraging people to spend small amounts on a card.

I have a railcard, so in London I'd be better using my oyster card anyway - 34% discount on off peak fares.

dr_adidas01

I don't think Edinburgh is behind the curve I've used it in a few shops the last time I was in Edinburgh. Perhaps you just don't go into any shops that use it, or have never noticed that the terminal offers you the option to use contactless.

Here in Manchester the Buses don't use contactless payments yet, but they are going to be very shortly.

Its actually cheaper to process a contactless payment than it is a chip and pin payment.

The local shop has a £5.00 limit for card payments if your using chip and pin, but if its contactless then it only seems to be £1 minimum spend.

theEnd

It's definitely better. In London I still only use Oyster and cash, but in the past got so frustrated with a queue of people using a credit card to pay for a sandwich in Boots, or a pint in the pub. Way quicker now.

... although I really don't understand why people don't carry a bit of cash. At least 50 quid or something.

Archi_Bald

Before long, contactless is set to take off in a very big way. Once you can use your phone instead of your card(s), the limit will be your limit on the card, not just £20 or £30. This will also encourage the remaining retailers to accept contactless payments.

Bettie

There was a competition to encourage people to use it, one entry per use so I started trying to use it and it worked occasionally but many times it didn't, especially in Wetherspoons and I found it embarrassing to keep trying only to have to revert to the chip and pin. In the end I gave up and have put the card away. I couldn't find any shops that took it either, just a few big pub type chains.

borkid

TartanSaver wrote: »

Maybe Edinburgh's just behind the the curve with it. The buses don't accept it (as I said, it actively causes problems) and most pubs prefer cash. There's a £10 minimum on cards in a lot of pubs, which would mean even if they took contactless (they don't) your round would have to fall into the £10-20 window.

It's fine for supermarkets, but for smaller businesses I have a suspicion that the processing costs outweigh any perceived benefit of encouraging people to spend small amounts on a card.

I have a railcard, so in London I'd be better using my oyster card anyway - 34% discount on off peak fares.

I live in a small, 700 people, village in Norfolk and the local shop and butcher both take the card for any amount over £5 so very convenient.

grumbler

Archi_Bald wrote: »

... the limit will be your limit on the card,...

Are you serious - unless you mean contactless+PIN - that would be very different from the current contactless?

wiogs

I have had a contactless card for ages but never got round to using it - yet.

OH does but there don't seem to be many places I go that take it or I have never noticed. Local supermarket does I know that but for smaller purchases I am old fashioned and tend to use cash.

I also use cash in pubs so that I can think "bloody hell! How much!!!" when I look at the small amount of change I receive.