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Apple Partnering With American Express on iPhone Mobile Payments Initiative [Updated]
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GREAT. The least accepted card in Europe. It's akin to turning up with US$ in cash and hoping that they accept it.
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Where? Restaurants rarely accept it, many stores refuse...
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Where? Restaurants rarely accept it, many stores refuse...
You know it's 2014, now, right? 1987 was 27 years ago.
OTOH, I was in Germany in 1992, and AmEx was taken there at MultiCenter, and at the Best Western I stayed at. The local restaurants, not so much.
Since 1987, Germany has:
1. Torn down that wall Mr. Reagan was talking about.
2. Grown by about 33% (Germans, please correct my math on East/West Germany sizes)
3. Dropped the first name (West or East)
4. Moved it's capital from Bonn to Berlin
5. Started using credit cards widely.
(edited to add "since 1987..." and thereafter.)
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Why does it then tell me, my billing address does not match my credit card records. ( I tried an address of chicago fire department
)I'm more angry about Uncle Sam charging me so much in taxes while so many Americans don't pay any taxes at all :/. Wish we would get rid of income tax totally and just do a 10-14% flat sales tax (but that's another forum
Agreed, but you don't know the meaning of tax, come to Europe. Here in the UK we are being gouged in taxes and it's totally unfair in my opinion, not to mention all the government stealth taxes. But yes, a discussion for another forum. I've always respected what Thomas Jefferson said on taxing the hard working people and on too much welfare as even 200 years ago he was bang on correct. You wouldn't believe the sort of welfare handed out here to those who have never worked and never will work.
But I can't wait for this, so long as it's secure as chip and pin then I'm happy using my iPhone.
You, someone like you, keeps saying that yet I used Credit cards in Berlin in the 1990s and obviously now. Not sure what your saying there. Maybe its a Berlin thing, but there at least you can use it extensively.
Ok, truly curious here.
What do you use? Cash?
I work with a guy who uses cash for everything and he literally carries thousands of dollars with him.
I always joke that I hope I'm near him when he gets in an accident.
Just doesn't seem worth the hassle of loss or theft.
And everything I've read about debit cards says that they're absolutely worthless when it comes to buyer protection so you may as well just use cash.
I saw Amex in the late 1980s in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Netherland. So, yes, nonsense. Local shops out of the tourists areas didn't have it for sure. But business and tourist areas had it. Why do you think their moto was : don't leave home without it?
You'll tap your "iWatch" against the reader to pay.....
No need to even get out your iPhone.
I don't pay a dime for my Amex.
Never have and never will.
I think 30 years ago you had no choice but today there are options.
Awesome! I love my Amex.
Note - this doesn't mean there will be an Apple AMEX or even that you'll need an AMEX to benefit. Apple is just trying to get all payment systems on board to accept whatever credit cards people have in their virtual wallet...
I spend a month-a-year in Germany and use my VISA CC everywhere, albeit Berlin has been slow on the uptake but only at the mom and pop level - heck, over the past year-and-a-half even my favourite pub in Savignyplatz is accepting CCs.
Multiple banks including Amex were making RFID cards for a while. I had one. The retail experience was the problem. Some terminals had the readers and many did not. The ones that did quickly fell into disrepair and were eventually replaced with mag stripe (only) readers. I got another new cars with RFID but the replacement when that one expired was mag stripe only.
I think for a new technology to be truly successful it needs to work with and without a smartphone. RFID could have done that but was perhaps too early. What's the incentive for all retailers to support NFC when most people will have their wallet with them regardless of whether they have their smartphone? Sure, NFC is more than that but quite a few smartphone users out there can barely figure out how to send a text.
I hope things turn out differently since better technology could help with things like security through the use of one time charge numbers, etc. it's just hard to see now when so many are still writing checks.
Restaurants, fuel stations, online, supermarkets, high street shops.
I can't think of a time I've been unable to use it.
VISA and Mastercard also confirmed: http://9to5mac.com/2014/08/31/apple...an-express-to-work-on-iphone-payments-system/
I am not saying credit cards arent used and especially in those common "tourist places" like Berlin for very OBVIOUS reasons but it is fairly known that germans arent using credit cards as frequently as other countries. I never ever use my credit card in Germany because i just cbf figuring out which store will actually take it while i use my credit card in Spain everywhere cuz you just dont have to wonder if they take it or not.
maybe its different in the north, i live in the south of germany
Take careful note of that one, Apple Brainwash(tm) at pristine perfection!
A year ago the fanatic went like: "NFC? Apple doesn't need NFC! We have... um... Bluetooth! Go stick with your Android!"
Then half a year and some later: "Wut? NFC?! With my iPhone? Nevah gonna happen! We have... um... Bluetooth!"
And now the process of perfect iBrainwash has already started: "Now that I hear HOW APPLE is going to implement it, I'm starting to like it! In fact, I wasn't even aware that I NEEDED that so bad since long time!"
I'm curious how the fanatics cope with larger screen sizes where, y'know, the thumb cannot reach each corner anymore - a feature that had been emphasised over and over again by Apple in their ads, and the fanbois sang along! Soon: "Me? No, I NEVER said that! I ALWAYS wanted to have a LARGER iPhone!"
How many cards are people carrying? At most you need two since not everyone accepts Amex.
How easy is it to get that stolen phone replaced? Amex will have a new card to me overnight wherever I am.
Most people are still going to carry cards in their wallet for years to come as people drag their feet adopting whatever new technology.
I can pull my cc and some cash out of my wallet when going to a concert or other venue where I might get bumped around or wet.
If NFC is implemented properly it should not require a lot of knowledge to use. Maybe Apple thinks they can pull this off? Just a surmise, based mainly on the length of time we've been hearing the rumors about Apple building the tech into their mobile devices.
The push has to be coming from the bankings side, I suspect. Credit cards as they are now designed are highly vulnerable to fraudulent use. The banks carry this as a cost, for the most part. They could all no doubt quote to the dollar how much they'd save in fraud expenses if the payment system was made more secure. No idea if NFC is the answer but if the banks are behind it they probably believe it will help (them, not necessarily us).
Totally, which is why I indicated this at the end:
I must have been answering the [?] part more then anything, and attempted to validate your guess.
I don't disagree, per se. A lot of people use credit cards for things they can't afford. IMO those people are the ones using it incorrectly (and also the reason credit card companies are in business; the comapnies would aregue that these people ARE using their cards correctly.
I don't like carrying cash. Almost every place accepts cards. If I am going to pay I will pay with debit or credit. Why? Its insured by the bank. If I lose my wallet or get it stolen, and cash in there is gone. I can;t ring my bank and tell them "yeah, so I have $50 in there, mind spotting me a $50?" But if I notice fraudulent charges on any of my accounts its just a phone call away. They can freeze my account if needed and send me a new card. This has happened to me once before, and it was a very pain free process.
The smart way to use a credit card, IMO, is to pay it off at the end of each month. Plenty of cards here also give you perks as cash back, gift cards, plane tickets, etc. There is no stipulation as to when you pay it off to get the credit (if I wanted to I could literally pay it off that day, so long as everything posts in time and I still get the credit).
Right now my card I use for gas (petrol, fuel for car, whaetevr you guys call it lol) gives me back 5%. It's an expense that I have whether I want to or not, why not get the money back? I think I also get 1-2% on all other purchases, I don't know lol.
My friend who co-owns a small business puts all of their monthly expenses on a frequent flyer card. I believe the card costs them $50 a year subscription fee, but they put tens of thousands a month onto the card (and pay it off at the end of each month). As a result he flies from San Francisco to Boston about twice a year, first class, for free. He also has a friend in Los Angeles that he casually visits once or twice a month, again flying first class for free. After that he STILL has more points than he knows what to do with.
So anyway, cards, especially perks cards, when used wisely, can be a definite benefit.
NFC technology still seems a bit unsecure.
http://www.choose.net/money/guide/news/criminals-easily-eavesdrop-contactless.html
http://www.choose.net/money/guide/news/criminals-easily-eavesdrop-contactless.html
I think you're right that the push needs to come from the banking side but I'm trying to imagine how. Many retailers purchase the card readers and many have integrated POS systems that cost a fortune to upgrade. Maybe the banks can pull card transactions off of these systems and only authorize against trusted readers.