[steelframe]

> Google pay has been a hot mess.

I recently replaced my iPhone 12 Pro with a Pixel 5a. I never had any issues with Apple Pay, but I'd say that about 30% of the time I try using Google Pay at stores and restaurants in my city, something goes wrong. Usually I get a green checkmark on my Pixel, bit the reader doesn't agree, and I have to try again. In fact just this afternoon the reader gave some arcane error message that looked like it belonged in a log file rather than on the screen of a consumer-facing payment device. The clerk told me, "Apple Pay seems to work fine. Google phones always have trouble. Do you just have a card you can use instead?"