Tap to pay - will it, won't it?
Discussion
Does anyone know the criteria systems use when you tap your card?
My card has £100 tap limit and I have no idea whether it will work or if it will ask me to insert my card and use my pin.
Petrol stations rarely let me tap more than £50.
In Boots yesterday I couldn't tap a £9 sale but in M&S next door ten minutes later I tapped a £10 sale. These are shops I use regularly. Last Friday, in a village 20 miles away in a Builders Merchant I've never used before, the bill was £99.98. I said to the assistant, "This won't work," but it did. Tap. Paid. Two pence shy of the limit.
When the system started I vowed I'd never use it. That lasted about a month.
My card has £100 tap limit and I have no idea whether it will work or if it will ask me to insert my card and use my pin.
Petrol stations rarely let me tap more than £50.
In Boots yesterday I couldn't tap a £9 sale but in M&S next door ten minutes later I tapped a £10 sale. These are shops I use regularly. Last Friday, in a village 20 miles away in a Builders Merchant I've never used before, the bill was £99.98. I said to the assistant, "This won't work," but it did. Tap. Paid. Two pence shy of the limit.
When the system started I vowed I'd never use it. That lasted about a month.
Merchants can set their own limits. I believe every 6 taps you have to enter your pin.
Apple/Google pay has no limits, as you authorise it with you thumb print/face recognition . I was weary of it, but it's easier than trying to dig the correct card out of your wallet and no pin faff.
Apple/Google pay has no limits, as you authorise it with you thumb print/face recognition . I was weary of it, but it's easier than trying to dig the correct card out of your wallet and no pin faff.
DickyC said:
Does anyone know the criteria systems use when you tap your card?
My card has £100 tap limit and I have no idea whether it will work or if it will ask me to insert my card and use my pin.
Petrol stations rarely let me tap more than £50.
In Boots yesterday I couldn't tap a £9 sale but in M&S next door ten minutes later I tapped a £10 sale. These are shops I use regularly. Last Friday, in a village 20 miles away in a Builders Merchant I've never used before, the bill was £99.98. I said to the assistant, "This won't work," but it did. Tap. Paid. Two pence shy of the limit.
When the system started I vowed I'd never use it. That lasted about a month.
I use Apple pay, which draws from my Barclaycard and Amex and appear to have no limit on either.My card has £100 tap limit and I have no idea whether it will work or if it will ask me to insert my card and use my pin.
Petrol stations rarely let me tap more than £50.
In Boots yesterday I couldn't tap a £9 sale but in M&S next door ten minutes later I tapped a £10 sale. These are shops I use regularly. Last Friday, in a village 20 miles away in a Builders Merchant I've never used before, the bill was £99.98. I said to the assistant, "This won't work," but it did. Tap. Paid. Two pence shy of the limit.
When the system started I vowed I'd never use it. That lasted about a month.
There are many permutations. Some may get you to input your Pin after 6/12/X transactions but recognise that it can't be achieved on many occasions as you're paying for, say, a bus fare.
I'm sure it's become a little more relaxed in recent times as I can use it many times, sometimes for much larger amounts.
I'm sure it's become a little more relaxed in recent times as I can use it many times, sometimes for much larger amounts.
Thanks for all these. It seems a lot more prosaic than I imagined.
A frequency limit on the card and businesses setting their own limits conspire to make my taps' success or failure appear random. Good. Not Big Brother after all.
My concern was that, if it is random, how tight are the systems? It seems the money people are way ahead of me. Which is good.
A frequency limit on the card and businesses setting their own limits conspire to make my taps' success or failure appear random. Good. Not Big Brother after all.
My concern was that, if it is random, how tight are the systems? It seems the money people are way ahead of me. Which is good.
It's not big brother it's technology trying to make sure someone can't simply nick your card and have a field day and it won't always get it absolutely right.
For what it's worth if you look at something like Apple Pay it's about as close to painless as it gets - to the point where other than out of habit I could (and often do) pretty much leave the house without taking my physical cards.
For what it's worth if you look at something like Apple Pay it's about as close to painless as it gets - to the point where other than out of habit I could (and often do) pretty much leave the house without taking my physical cards.
Use Google Pay or Apple pay if you want maximum security.
Your real card details are never divulged, it’s all done in the background and you are issued randomised card details for every transaction.
Stick the Pay app behind biometrics, there is to need to worry about RFID scanners or your card / phone being stolen.
I hardly take my real cards anywhere.
I still use keys though.
Lol.
Your real card details are never divulged, it’s all done in the background and you are issued randomised card details for every transaction.
Stick the Pay app behind biometrics, there is to need to worry about RFID scanners or your card / phone being stolen.
I hardly take my real cards anywhere.
I still use keys though.
Lol.
That isn’t an issue, the phone can do it off line and sort the transactions out once connected to the mothership.
The only issue I’ve come across is some retailers don’t like Amex on Google Pay. For some reason they require you to tap the physical Amex card. Mastercard and Visa, I’ve never had issues.
Also some carpark payment machines, the contactless sensor is inside a recess just about big enough for a card. The phone wont fit, so you can’t pay with it. Stupid design if you ask me.
The only issue I’ve come across is some retailers don’t like Amex on Google Pay. For some reason they require you to tap the physical Amex card. Mastercard and Visa, I’ve never had issues.
Also some carpark payment machines, the contactless sensor is inside a recess just about big enough for a card. The phone wont fit, so you can’t pay with it. Stupid design if you ask me.
Edited by wyson on Friday 27th September 08:51
wyson said:
That isn’t an issue, the phone can do it off line and sort the transactions out once connected to the mothership.
The only issue I’ve come across is some retailers don’t like Amex on Google Pay. For some reason they require you to tap the physical Amex card. Mastercard and Visa, I’ve never had issues.
No, it can't a lot of the time. If you have no phone reception in some areas you can't proceed further.The only issue I’ve come across is some retailers don’t like Amex on Google Pay. For some reason they require you to tap the physical Amex card. Mastercard and Visa, I’ve never had issues.
Edited by wyson on Friday 27th September 08:45
Vasco said:
No, it can't a lot of the time. If you have no phone reception in some areas you can't proceed further.
I think I read there was a transaction limit with Google Pay for offline transactions, but practically speaking, it was high enough for it to never be a problem. I’ve never had a transaction fail because of this, I’ve been using Google pay for about 6 years since launch as my primary method of payment.
hstewie said:Gassing Station | Finance | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff