Apple Pay Officially Launches in the United Kingdom Today

[JulianL]

Can someone recommend a good cashback credit card that works with apple pay. Both my existing cards are with non supporters, so they have to go.
Cheers.

If you're willing to accept that some places won't take it, although fewer places than you might think, then Amex has about the best cashback deals that I know of at the moment.

The trouble with cashback at the moment is that new EU regulations capping merchant fees (at 0.3% of transaction value I think) means that cashback is likely to be a disappearing perk on UK Visa and Mastercards. CapitalOne has already discontinued or seriously reduced cashback rates on its UK cards, that's why I moved to Amex with my CapitalOne card now only used as a backup. As I understand it cards issued directly by Amex won't fall under the EU transaction fee capping regulations and so their levels of cashback have a better chance of being maintained going forward.

 

[Reason077]

Actually, it makes sense that Oyster continues to use their own cards for monthly passes, for kid's passes, and for student passes. A normal mobile payment can't differentiate those things.

TfL's support for contactless isn't really a normal mobile payment.

Your account isn't charged at the moment you tap your card/device, but rather the uses are logged, reconciled and charged at the end of the day.

They already apply discounts for daily and weekly fare caps, so there's no reason why they couldn't let you register as a Student or Child and apply the discount to any card or device you nominate (except, perhaps, that not a lot of under-16 children have contactless bank cards?).

The same goes for monthly and annual Travelcards. Sooner or later, everything that is currently available on Oyster will be available for contactless cards and Apple Pay devices interchangeably.

 

[WatchSwimmer]

Paying for my sandwich with my watch. Worked flawlessly and very quick to authorise with my Natwest card.

https://twitter.com/WatchSwimmer/status/620943337588191232

 

[nebo1ss]

You have met a tube inspector? I always thought they were a myth, like the NYC sewer Alligators

Actually I met one on a bus last summer and was really quite surprised. She was in her 30's Ripped Jeans, Mohawk hair style dyed blue, nose ring and a t-Shirt. She walked through the bus with her machine checking oyster cards. They do run adverts on the tube and buses more or less saying you will not recognise one.

 

[roadbloc]

Not much point since all cards come with contactless payments built in.

 

[Gibbage]

Ah Okay Great - just checked my voicemail and it appears they have called me back tonight as well. I shall give them a call in the morning..

Gotta say I'm always impressed with the One Account Customer Service - 1st class that they said they would phone us back and actually have !

Let me know how you get on with activation

My card was activated at about 8:30 this morning. Going to try it out at Costa for lunch

 

[Reason077]

The ticket barriers have the card reader on the right-hand side. More natural for the majority of the population, and not too awkward for the lefties among us. (Left-handed that is, not Guardian readers).

However, the vast majority of people wear a watch on the left wrist. Many lefties wear watches on the left wrist too.

I'm not a watch wearer, but I wonder if there any good, modern reason for this convention that watches are worn on the left wrist.

I presume it is because, in the days when people spent a lot of time handwriting, watches would get in the way and get worn out quicker if they were on the side of your writing hand. But now days most of us don't do a lot of handwriting - we spend our days typing and using handheld devices, so it doesn't make a lot of difference which wrist the watch is on, right?

The fact that contactless payment terminals are usually placed on the right-hand-side might be a good reason that we should, in fact, be wearing our watches on the right wrist!

(I sold my Apple Watch, but might buy another)

 

[pjh]

If you're willing to accept that some places won't take it, although fewer places than you might think, then Amex has about the best cashback deals that I know of at the moment.

The trouble with cashback at the moment is that new EU regulations capping merchant fees (at 0.3% of transaction value I think) means that cashback is likely to be a disappearing perk on UK Visa and Mastercards. CapitalOne has already discontinued or seriously reduced cashback rates on its UK cards, that's why I moved to Amex with my CapitalOne card now only used as a backup. As I understand it cards issued directly by Amex won't fall under the EU transaction fee capping regulations and so their levels of cashback have a better chance of being maintained going forward.

Might also see a drop in the number of shops that will take AMEX. If they keep their already high fees and the others are forced to drop there will be no incentive for stores to take AMEX. It's a shame really as I found their customer service to be great, I just got fed up always having to carry a backup card.

 

[CinnamonRage]

I added an AMEX card to my Pasbook/Wallet and tried it in M&S yesterday and it never worked. I also noticed that Rory Cellan-Jones said he also had problems with his AMEX day one. Anyone else had issues? Was going to try again today. Just wanted to check my expected chances of success.

 

[Zxxv]

Not much point since all cards come with contactless payments built in.

Not much point (in carrying a card) since iPhones come with contactless payments built in

(and get cash from within banking app; out of cashpoint)

always another way to look at things.

 

[bbfc]

Where did you hear the August date for M&S?

I have my sources!

 

[NightFox]

Not much point since all cards come with contactless payments built in.

Unless I'm misunderstanding what you're saying, this simply isn't correct. I've got cards from Tesco, Lloyds, TSB, RBS and Barclays, some of them issued in 2015, and only the Barclaycard is contactless

 

[bigchrisfgb]

Not much point since all cards come with contactless payments built in.

That's not true, most cards are contactless but some aren't. Apple pay is more secure as well.
Also from what I experienced yesterday it is quicker to pull out my iPhone to pay than it is to pull out my wallet and then my card from my wallet.
Also sometimes cards need to be sitting virtually on top of the reader, where as the iPhone doesn't need to be that close.
Of course there will be some teething issues, but once people are used to Apple pay I would say it will generally become faster than using a contactless card.

 

[NightFox]

Not much point since all cards come with contactless payments built in.

You're also not taking into account the tokenisation element of Apple Pay whereby the retailer never actually gets your card number so they can't use it to track your buying history with them or store it on their systems waiting to be hacked and stolen. Might not be a big thing for you and others, but it's still a big difference from using a physical card.

I have to say though, Apple don't seem to be marketing this USP very well at all.

 

[jordancrombie92]

I tried with my AMEX at McDonald's last night, it partially worked, but then I still had to enter my card and PIN for security reasons...

 

[CinnamonRage]

I added an AMEX card to my Pasbook/Wallet and tried it in M&S yesterday and it never worked. I also noticed that Rory Cellan-Jones said he also had problems with his AMEX day one. Anyone else had issues? Was going to try again today. Just wanted to check my expected chances of success.

Answered my own question. Worked at second time of asking! Awesome.

 

[kdarling]

I'm not a watch wearer, but I wonder if there any good, modern reason for this convention that watches are worn on the left wrist.

I presume it is because, in the days when people spent a lot of time handwriting, watches would get in the way and get worn out quicker if they were on the side of your writing hand. ....

The only modern reason would be for protecting it, and to keep it out of the way as you said.

Prior to that, you wore it on the left so you could wind it easily using the right hand, since the crown is almost always on the right side. That's because watches were made for the left arm.

The seminal reason they're made to be worn on the left wrist, is because wristwatches became popular during WW-I for silently synchronizing attacks without having to use signals that give away your position or intent. The right arm was usually holding a weapon, and a watch on that wrist would not be easily visible.

 

[scottish]

N

No text option on my RBS card for some reason, only call RBS

Apparently some customers don't have enough security clearance to allow verification by text.

 

[Totalkharnage]

I tried with my AMEX at McDonald's last night, it partially worked, but then I still had to enter my card and PIN for security reasons...

Exactly same happened with me. Think it might be the first time it's been used although haven't used it since.

 

[Azzin]

Can someone recommend a good cashback credit card that works with apple pay. Both my existing cards are with non supporters, so they have to go.
Cheers.

Amex.

[Edit] - https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/...veryday-credit-card/?filter=cashback-customer

 

[0970373]

You have met a tube inspector? I always thought they were a myth, like the NYC sewer Alligators

Silly, we don't have sewer alligators! That's New Orleans. NYC has rodents of unusual size in the subways though.

 

[0970373]

I would imagine the ticket machines will accept Apple pay via the NFC, but I doubt the barriers will accept it.
Nexus will take ages to implement anything like this.
We'll have new Metro's and new ticket barriers by the time it arrives.

It works. Just bring up the contactless card you have registered on Oyster w/ your thumb on the home button as you tap the yellow reader Some of us Americans have already been doing this. Though I guess there may be a new process if Apple Pay is being officially supported by TFL now? I would be super excited about that.

 

[jannette]

I used Amex on my watch in Waitrose today....no problems at all.

 

[Reason077]

It works. Just bring up the contactless card you have registered on Oyster w/ your thumb on the home button as you tap the yellow reader Some of us Americans have already been doing this. Though I guess there may be a new process if Apple Pay is being officially supported by TFL now? I would be super excited about that.

Err, I believe he was talking about the (Tyne and Wear) Metro, not the London Underground!

 

[Zxxv]

It works. Just bring up the contactless card you have registered on Oyster w/ your thumb on the home button as you tap the yellow reader Some of us Americans have already been doing this. Though I guess there may be a new process if Apple Pay is being officially supported by TFL now? I would be super excited about that.

I would hope I could just travel to london and use my iPhone to travel on the tube and busses. Not worrying about anything. And knowing that I won't go over a certain amount for the day. I would like to know this amount before traveling though and that isn't so clear. What I read it seemed to say £8.10 would be the most I'd pay as a daily cap. That is very acceptable and would encourage me to travel into london (by train) more regularly.

I wouldn't want to register anything before hand. Just travel in, come to a barrier or get on a bus and scan my iPhone. That would be magic.