How dare you not have the latest checkout methods ...

[Pixelated]

I broke down today and went to Mega-Gigantic Big Box Store to buy some unmentionables and I heard the cashier say to the guy ahead of me, "I'm sorry, we don't have that." He was holding a debit card and I thought she meant they had no debit -- and all I had was a debit card, so I thought I'd better ask before she started ringing my stuff up.

No, what she meant was they don't have the 'tap' function. I don't care; my new debit card can use 'tap' but I'm so used to "Insert card and type in Secret Squirrel Number" that I never use the tap.

Apparently, however, the customer ahead of me didn't think the same. The cashier said he sounded almost offended that they didn't have tap (his body language did suggest that, from my vantage point).

There was a tiny shop in My Former City of Residence that took ONLY CASH. I'm trying to imagine this guy in that place.

[Dreamstalker]

My old store had the tap function when we upgraded the pinpads to support EMV, except it only worked when it wanted to (and there was an additional problem with a certain bank on occasion where either their cards would be the only cards to work, or the only ones to not work).

Our favorite Thai takeout is cash only and some of the tantrums I've seen...there's an ATM near the counter but it's amazing how many people believe every store everywhere must accept the latest and greatest payment methods.

[Pixelated]

My store doesn't have tap . But so far I've not heard any tantrums about it; people just ask -- or they tap their card, wait while nothing happens, and then ask -- but I've not witnessed any tantrums or sulks over it (not to say it hasn't happened, of course). It's pretty pathetic when people take it as a personal insult that they actually have to spend a minute or so using an "old-fashioned" method.

[RealUnimportant]

Most of the people that whine about tap not being available are just too dense to remember their own PIN, and of the rest a significant percentage seem to lose all interest in making a purchase when they realise they need to offer proof that it really is their card...

[Teefies2]

Most of the people that whine about tap not being available are just too dense to remember their own PIN, and of the rest a significant percentage seem to lose all interest in making a purchase when they realise they need to offer proof that it really is their card...

And that right there tells you all you need to know about the human race (at least in the US) .... we're doomed

[drjonah]

Most of the people that whine about tap not being available are just too dense to remember their own PIN, and of the rest a significant percentage seem to lose all interest in making a purchase when they realise they need to offer proof that it really is their card...

Just wait, more and more banks are starting to require a PIN no matter what and that's not making people happy.

My store has the equipment to accept tap but not the software. But then again, maybe 1 in 1000 customers at my location actually have that ability so nobody really notices and of course, these are the same customers who swipe their card and then stare at the machine for a minute going 'what do I do?'

[RealUnimportant]

Oh gods, the starers... "What do I do?" What does it tell you to do? "It says to remove my card, should I do that?"

[Pixelated]

Just wait, more and more banks are starting to require a PIN no matter what and that's not making people happy.

A little while ago my bank started requiring you to 'activate' your account when you want to do any transaction by using your bank card. And NOT with the tap.

[Slave to the Phone]

I was an idiot with my card today. The corner store now has chip readers and I didn't know that my card was chipped. The cashier had to point it out to me and then show me what to do. I apologized and she told me not to worry about it, but really?

What sort of an idiot carries and uses a chipped card for over a month and doesn't know she has one or how it works? THIS sort of idiot, that's who. At least I'm trainable. It won't happen again.

[Teefies2]

I was an idiot with my card today. The corner store now has chip readers and I didn't know that my card was chipped. The cashier had to point it out to me and then show me what to do. I apologized and she told me not to worry about it, but really?

What sort of an idiot carries and uses a chipped card for over a month and doesn't know she has one or how it works? THIS sort of idiot, that's who. At least I'm trainable. It won't happen again.

Before my confinement ... I mean, my medical leave I saw this every day. What amazes me is this - the chip was designed to generate a random PIN on each use, thereby cutting down on identity theft. Therefore, it operates best when you don't enter a PIN, instead relying on the chip to do its job.

So many, so many, people continue to enter their bank PIN after inserting the chip card. That defeats the purpose people !!!!!!

[notalwaysright]

I thought it was still a two step process... The chip randomly generates a transaction code. Since it's random, it can't be copied and then used again, like regular magnetic strip cards. But there is still the transaction verification step, which could be a pin or a signature.

I wouldn't want to use tap to pay, it seems terribly unsecured, but maybe I'm just paranoid.

[WishfulSpirit]

My bank card requires using the PIN. It's a debit and can't be run as credit.

[Dreamstalker]

Some stores I have to enter PIN with my debit card, others give me the option of credit or debit. Guess it depends on the setup.

The code generated by the chip verifies whether a PIN entry is correct, but that's been hacked. For credit cards, the code is probably a one-time verification similar to a random number generator; even if that value is cloned it's unlikely to work again.

[Nunavut Pants]

Note that different countries/different banks have different procedures. I know that, at least as of a few years back, most of Europe used the "chip & pin" method, where the cards do have a chip and you also need to enter a PIN to let the system know it's you.

Currently, in my area of the US, most new credit cards have a chip in them as well as a mag stripe. When you use the chip reader (less than half of stores have them activated around here) you are not required to enter any PIN.

Contrast that to a debit card, which (last I used it for purchases) always asked for your ATM PIN.

[Slave to the Phone]

Seeing as how my very embarrassing idiot moment is still fresh in my mind, my memory is very clear. Once I knew to not swipe my card, I was able to read the instructions and the machine did ask me for my bank PIN.

I still should have known that my new card had a chip. Sometimes I'm a dumb bunny.