[rsynnott]

I was about 30 when Apple Pay/Google Pay showed up; I use it fairly exclusively now. If nothing else it is much _faster_.

(Before that I was mostly using card-based tap-to-pay, but that has the disadvantage that there's a limit both on transaction size and on transactions since last validation, after which it requires pin validation. The phone-based solution don't have this; being able to unlock the phone satisfies the PSD2 requirements.)

[_ea1k]

Yeah, I'm amazed at how convenient tap to pay is now. It is almost always significantly faster than chip readers.

Strangely, it hasn't always been the case. Early on, I really wondered if the tech would catch on, as I had a lot of issues. Lots of places didn't support tap, or had the hardware but had it disabled. For some reason, it wasn't fast at all, often taking as long as a regular card too! And worse, a tap failure seemed to require the person at the register to have to cancel the transaction on their end to allow a retry. They weren't used to tap-to-pay and would often act annoyed.

Somewhere along the way, this all changed. Taps are near instant, they rarely fail, and they usually reset pretty quickly when they do! I'd guess a lot of people who are hesitant were bitten by some of the early problems and don't realize how much smoother it all is now.

[BrandoElFollito]

At least in Europe, the tap to pay restrictions were relaxed in the last 2-3 years (differently in different countries)

[reaperducer]

If nothing else it is much _faster_.

It used to be. But in a lot of the places I shop, it's not anymore. Especially the supermarket. And Target!

  Enter your store rewards card number.  Skip.

  Do you want to pay with your store card? No.

  Do you want to donate to our charity of the month? No.

  Do you want to round up your total to save the dying baby whales?  No.

  Tap, insert or swipe.  Wave the phone around the payment pad to find the invisible, not marked sweet spot so it bleeps.

  Oh, it's a debit card! Enter your PIN.  Push. Push. Push. Push.

  Do you want cash back?  No.

  Confirm the total.  Push.

  Do you want your receipt printed, e-mailed, or not at all?  Not at all.

  Transaction complete.

Versus cash:

  Your total is $28.52.  Hand over $40.00.

  Teller puts the bills in the slot, and the machine tells her how many bills of which denominations to give me, while my coins slide down the little chute into the change tray.

And I'm gone.

[BrandoElFollito]

In Europe you just tell and your are gone.

But funding the oayment spot in a new place indeed looks like waving a magic wand