And Americans will typically try to cut it any number of ways that aren’t “the US is uniquely behind the times, given their wealth”.
The reality: When I was working retail, in 2010 mind you, customers would very routinely be surprised and annoyed by the fact that our store didn’t have terminals that accept NFC payments.
When Apple Pay came out in…2014? 2015?, all the American tech pundits were talking about it like it was futuristic alien technology.
I’ve spent exactly one week in the US, ever. I was in Seattle. If I used my card to pay for food at a restaurant, it was entirely common and accepted for someone to take my card, scurry away, and come back at some point with something for me to sign. Back home, they’ll bring me the terminal so I can just tap my card (or phone, or whatever), or they’ll do it for me in the case of a card, and that’s that.
A few years ago, I was sitting at a bar in Vegas having lunch and the guy next to me finished up and paid his bill and he was "Whut?!" when the bartender grabbed his card and headed off. I must say, I just got back from Europe and the near universality of just tapping a card on either a portable terminal or at the bar with no worries about manually adding on service charges (though in the UK there is usually an "optional" charge added on for table service) is quite streamlined.
It's actually incredible how behind they are in some respects. NYC only got an NFC payment card for the travel system (Omny) in 2021. London's oyster card was launched in 2003!
Meh bringing the terminal to the table because the card being out of sight is scary to Europeans (and some Americans) is also weird. What's the waiter going to do? Steal your money? Well, yes. But Chip and PIN being brought out so many years because theft via magstripe was so common in some areas of the EU by organized crime isn't something I'd really brag about.
Which is a PITA but ultimately the card company will cover it.
The way payments in restaurants are typically handled in much of Europe is convenient but to the parent's point, the obsession with never letting go of your card sometimes seems a bit excessive.
I would say the habit of not needing to trust the waiter with our cards means that when we're in a situation where we have to, it's very uncomfortable. Just like I would feel very uncomfortable giving my passwords to a coworker, even though I generally trust them not to abuse it. There's a strong sense of inappropriateness.
> Chip and PIN being brought out so many years because theft via magstripe was so common in some areas of the EU by organized crime isn't something I'd really brag about.
Ah, yes, "if it's NIH, it's probably because we're so honest we don't need it".
And Americans will typically try to cut it any number of ways that aren’t “the US is uniquely behind the times, given their wealth”.
The reality: When I was working retail, in 2010 mind you, customers would very routinely be surprised and annoyed by the fact that our store didn’t have terminals that accept NFC payments.
When Apple Pay came out in…2014? 2015?, all the American tech pundits were talking about it like it was futuristic alien technology.
I’ve spent exactly one week in the US, ever. I was in Seattle. If I used my card to pay for food at a restaurant, it was entirely common and accepted for someone to take my card, scurry away, and come back at some point with something for me to sign. Back home, they’ll bring me the terminal so I can just tap my card (or phone, or whatever), or they’ll do it for me in the case of a card, and that’s that.
It’s such an odd thing to get defensive about.