Physical Credit/Debit Cards vs Apple Pay

enthusiasticsaver

Mostly I just take my phone and use Apple pay. If travelling I usually do take a physical card in case I need to get cash although finding cash machines is getting harder and harder. I have more than one card registered to apple pay so usually if one card fails I can try another.

molerat

Contactless was not working in Lidl one day so glad I had a card with me. Had the Lloyds CC Google wallet fail on a £200+ purchase a few times but weirdly the last one for £300 worked - I was shocked. Plus with using the Tesco CC as the clubcard for fuel gets 1 point per litre so need the actual card for pay at pump. So yes I generally have at least one card on me but rarely use it.

Rob5342

I always pay with my phone or watch, it must be four or five years since I regularly used a physical card.

I always carry cards as a backup in a different pocket though, as it I dropped my phone or the battery went flat I'd have no means of payment.

Jami74

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82041860#Comment_82041860

If cash was the only option, i wouldn't make the purchase as I don't carry debit cards for cash withdrawal at ATMs. I always check at smaller retailers that they take card before choosing, it's usually only chips or ice-cream places where I am that are cash only. Even the beggars have card readers where I live.

I tend to take a couple of credit cards with my (in a card wallet) if I'm going shopping but if I forget or find myself in a shop unexpected then I use my phone to pay.

Savvy_Sue

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82041938#Comment_82041938

Well I do the same, but I do also have 'other' cards in my handbag, and some cash. Yes, if I lost my phone I'd be a bit stuck, but not nearly as stuck as if I ONLY had payment methods on my phone, and no backups.

I don't actually have payment methods set up on my phone. There's enough gubbins on my phone without adding any more.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82042161#Comment_82042161

I've noticed that on the buses too: those paying by phone are FAR more likely to hold things up. Sometimes they just didn't get organised; other times they were organised but by the time the bus has come their phone has locked; sometimes by the time the bus has come whatever they did before it arrived has 'locked' or vanished. Although it seemed to work better in Amsterdam …

I find the same with train tickets, which is why I prefer to print a ticket at home than rely on my phone. I have a bus pass now and that works beautifully on buses!

sausage_time

I've noticed that on the buses too: those paying by phone are FAR more likely to hold things up. Sometimes they just didn't get organised; other times they were organised but by the time the bus has come their phone has locked; sometimes by the time the bus has come whatever they did before it arrived has 'locked' or vanished.

Google Wallet lets you tap to pay without unlocking for many public transport systems. I know it works well for TFL for example.

You need to turn of verification for public transport in settings, scroll down on this page.

https://support.google.com/wallet/answer/12059519

Apple may have similar.

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82044476#Comment_82044476

Does work on Apple - has given rise to problems at TfL whereby the tap in works OK but another virtual card is read by the handhelds used by Inspectors thus giving rise to false penalty fares. There's a need to select the correct public transport virtual card manually before the Inspector's tap.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82044395#Comment_82044395

But in major cities at least you dont need to be organised, with ApplePay at least as if you have Transport turned on you dont need to unlock the phone. I still dont get why people take ages trying to find their wallet app and log in etc whereas I just tap my phone and it does everything itself.

A former client actually had a similar system for getting through the building barriers, if you had Apple you could just tap your phone and the barriers open, Android had to load the card on screen before tapping. That said it was a very odd building, clearly inspired by Apple with no reception desk but instead "helpers" wandering around in blue t-shirts and iPad minis to help direct people. They system was good though, if I had a visitor coming I put their details into the buildings system, they get emailed a QR code to open the gates, when the QR code is scanned I and our reception get an email saying the visitor has just entered the building. That said I confused the hell out of a broker's reception as they were 2 floors above us so was able to get to their reception using my own pass rather than their QR code and they were in a flap as they hadn't had the email that I was coming.

oldernonethewiser

The paying for transport by just holding the phone near the reader is magic.

Here's how to set it up on an iPhone

Well worth doing.

redux

Some automatic fuel forecourts look like they only accept cards