Contactless cards on London Underground

[brett]

At home given the option of sliding my card into the reader and then inputting my pin or simply tapping my card.... I always opt to tap. Faster, easier.

 

[MichaelB]

I think it's a pretty neat topic, thanks for posting, Alan. Now that the tech companies are getting into payment systems I suspect it won't be long 'til we see this in the US.

An interesting episode a couple of weeks ago with Jamima Kelly of FT Alphaville. Apparently her phone died just when she was paying bus fare and she ended up with a fine close to £500. Story here (registration but free) https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2019/10...CLUSIVE-ft---tabloid-sensation--Jemima-Kelly/

and I normally don't pay any attention at all to what forum a thread is in.

Keeping things to a specific forum helps filter search results.

 

[audreyh1]

We used Apple Pay (contactless) a great deal this trip in Spain and France. So nice! Especially at restaurants which invariably accepted it. They often didn’t know what we meant by “Apple Pay” but when we pointed to our watch they would nod, LOL!

Easier even then tap! (you don’t have to pull out a card, and higher limits/more secure)

I only ran into one store that had a $ limit on the Apple Watch contactless payment. All the others recognized that we could pay larger amounts even though it was contactless because it was the more secure Apple Pay.

 

[audreyh1]

Convenience?

As mentioned, Costco Citi Cards are contactless, and the terminals at the checkout lines can read them.

The problem at Costco is that you still have to take your card out of the wallet to show the cashier, as it is also the membership card.

I use my iPhone Costco App to show my Costco membership, and my Apple Watch to pay.

 

[cathy63]

Just checked my wallet and none of my 3 credit cards are contactless.... the card that we use the most is Citi Double Cash card... I wonder if they issue a contactless version. What are the benefits of having a contactless card if you spend most of your time in the US?

There are lots of contactless payment terminals in the U.S. too. Though all the ones I've seen here also take payment by phone, and that's even easier.

 

[NW-Bound]

I use my iPhone Costco App to show my Costco membership, and my Apple Watch to pay.

Pretty fancy.

But soon, with face recognition software we can travel the world without any ID or devices.

Seems far-fetched, but recently I read about the experience of a Westerner working in a major Chinese city (Shenzhen?). He broke the law by jaywalking, and said that within a few minutes he received a text message on the phone saying his local bank account had been debited an amount for the fine.

What the heck? No appeal? What about mistaken identity? I guess it is up to the victim to prove that it was not him committing the act. Guilty until proven innocent. And you are the one to supply that proof.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I hope you have weather as nice as we did last week. Every night the forecast was for rain next day and every day the rain had come early overnight and we had dry days. It was the same with Paris the previous week, but warm and sunny as well as dry. We ate outside two days, on the Champs-Elyseese and on the banks of the Seine, plus a boat cruise down the Seine had everyone on the open deck on top.

Our first visit to London was mid-April for a week and the temps were 10 degrees Fahrenheit below normal and a bit drizzly—so chilly but we still fell in love with London. We can’t wait to be there again!

 

[Sunset]

I think it's a pretty neat topic, thanks for posting, Alan. Now that the tech companies are getting into payment systems I suspect it won't be long 'til we see this in the US.

An interesting episode a couple of weeks ago with Jamima Kelly of FT Alphaville. Apparently her phone died just when she was paying bus fare and she ended up with a fine close to £500. Story here (registration but free) https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2019/10...CLUSIVE-ft---tabloid-sensation--Jemima-Kelly/

Keeping things to a specific forum helps filter search results.

When flying, I've seen people use their phone to pass though TSA. Sometimes having a little trouble getting the scan code to show properly.

I ALWAYS (yes always) print on paper 2 copies of our boarding/flight info, as my big concern/fear and experience has been my phone will screw it up, not be able to display the email, die, etc, just when I need to show the proof.

I carry one copy, and DW carries the other, so even if our bag is stolen, we can still catch our flight.

 

[braumeister]

When flying, I've seen people use their phone to pass though TSA. Sometimes having a little trouble getting the scan code to show properly.

I've had trouble using the boarding pass on my phone, but finally figured it out. The key is to be sure the phone screen is bright enough to give the contrast the scanner needs.

I normally keep my phone screen brightness fairly low, so just before approaching the TSA line I quickly raise the brightness to maximum (it only takes two seconds to do that). Since I started doing this a few years ago I've never had a problem. Once through the security area I can lower the brightness again to conserve battery life.

 

[audreyh1]

I use my phone to show boarding pass, but I always have paper backup!

In the United app it automatically maximizes brightness when showing my boarding pass, and switches back to normal when boarding pass not displayed.

 

[Aus_E_Expat]

We have had contactless cards for a number of years. We have used them extensively at home and while traveling internationally. Australia was about as cashless as it gets.

When I am in Australia I hardly ever use cash, it is all tap and go (contactless). For amounts over AUD100 you need to give a pin.

Interestingly, the public transport system still requires prepaid cash cards (I understand one of their most profitable parts of the business is interest on the prepaid cards and the number of people who lose their cards with credit on them).

 

[camfused]

... What are the benefits of having a contactless card if you spend most of your time in the US?

Let me add another reason to the other replies. For mild germaphobes like me, it means I don't have to touch anything that people have coughed and sneezed all over, or hand my card to a clerk that has touched those things and is spreading the plague. Same reason I like to use ApplePay on my iPhone when I can.

 

[camfused]

So Alan, would you say that you can go US Visa card contactless for much of Paris then? Going in the Spring.

 

[mh]

I used Apple Pay on my iPhone wherever the was a contactless point of sale in England / Scotland . Worked fine

 

[Alan]

So Alan, would you say that you can go US Visa card contactless for much of Paris then? Going in the Spring.

Definitely.

We had 2 weeks in a rented house in a very small village in the south of France earlier this year. I used my US Visa contactless card everywhere, and signed for bills that were above the card’s contactless limit. The smallest bakery and coffee shop supported US contactless cards.

 

[audreyh1]

Where in southern France?

 

[Alan]

Where in southern France?

Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie. We flew Ryanair Manchester to Marseille with a family group of 5 and hired a car. It was about a 2 hour drive.

 

[Alan]

I actually don’t normally even take the card out of my wallet. All the contactless terminals over here are also pay by phone which don’t have a limit so I just use my iPhone or Apple Watch. To use the Tube and bus however does require a contactless card.

Nearly all the stores here now have their loyalty cards available as apps these days. Instead of a bunch of small cards on my key ring I now have a folder called Shopping on my phone so at the till I scan my card app then pay by phone. Don’t have to even do anything but keep the phone close to the terminal and then double click when the payment window opens and Face ID authorises the payment.

 

[audreyh1]

Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie. We flew Ryanair Manchester to Marseille with a family group of 5 and hired a car. It was about a 2 hour drive.

Ah, Provence! Wonderful area.

 

[bonvoyage]

You can also use Apple Pay wherever contactless payments are accepted. Using Apple Pay with an Apple Watch is really one of the best experiences possible. I used it all over London in the underground. Incidentally, the New York City subway system also accepts Apple Pay at the stations that have been renovated with the new turnstiles.

 

[braumeister]

Perhaps this is about to pick up in the US. I got this email today from Chase:

Save some time in your busy life with your contactless Chase Visa® credit card. Tap to pay three times from Nov. 20 through Dec. 31, 2019, and receive 500 Points when each purchase is $1.75 or more.*

 

[FIYes]

I use my phone and watch for CC payments here in the US. I use my watch where contactless payments are accepted and my phone everywhere. Since I have Samsung Pay, I am not restricted to contactless terminals with my phone.

 

[NW-Bound]

Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie. We flew Ryanair Manchester to Marseille with a family group of 5 and hired a car. It was about a 2 hour drive.

I love these little villages in Europe. When you have seen the big cities like Paris, London, and Rome, just hanging out in the countryside is great.


About contactless paying, I don't keep up-to-date with this stuff, so just found out that I can install Google Pay on my Android phone, which is 5-year-old but already has NFC (Near Field Communication) as the necessary hardware for this function.

Do I do this to keep up with the times? Maybe I will, but there's no hurry.

 

[Ronstar]

Ahhh - I'm starting to understand this. I went for gas in Canada a month ago. The gas station had some issue with my credit card. IIRC, I couldn't pay at the pump - I had to pay inside. I questioned the inside attendant -he took a look at the back of it and said something about my card not qualifying - that my card was not like those in Canada. Now I assume he was talking about contactless cards.

 

[braumeister]

That's one of the things I like about visiting Canada; they're much more like Europe than the US.