Half the places in the US i've asked to use it or if they support it, they ask me what i'm talking about, then i'll just say "contactless" and they said give it a shot. Outside of major cities, it's definitely not widely known or understood, even if the payment terminal supports it.
One place it worked almost 99% of the places was Japan, and no one knew what it was, and were confused that the receipt didn't require a signature.
You probably stuck to tourist hotspots when you were here in Japan. I’d say it’s about 50-50 … or, more likely, 40:40:10 contactless:credit-but-no-contactless:cash-only.
But even in the past few months at least one major merchant (Cainz, pronounced, “Kine’s,” basically Lowe’s / Home Depot) added support for contactless, and I’ve been surprised a couple times by small mom-n-pop places that take contactless — so it’s moving in the right direction.
Shockingly enough, not all taxis take contactless payment. And this is despite widespread use of taxi-summoning apps.
(Worth noting: there is no such thing as ride-sharing. Uber is beginning operations in a few areas as a regular taxi service. Taxis are very, very strictly regulated, with recent news being about crackdowns on “informal” not-taxis taxis popular downtown with Chinese tourists. Waymo is advertising that they’re coming but I’ve yet to see one of their vehicles.)
Where contactless really truly shines here is transit. You can buy a Suica card in Apple Wallet and top it off any time. I’ve got one on my Ultra that I use almost exclusively, plus another on my iPhone that’s mostly a backup. You don’t even break stride as you go through the ticket gate. And the Suica app is fantastic for Green Car (first class) tickets … get to the platform and, while you’re waiting for the train (which will arrive in just a few minutes at most), pick where you’re coming from and going to. Then touch the phone / watch above any empty seat. Oh — and the seats are comparable to Business Class airlines in the States. It’s about ¥750 / $5 for the base fare to / from downtown to the suburbs an hour away, plus about as much for the グリーン車 upgrade … and the upgrade lets you enjoy a relaxed boxed bento dinner (complete with wine / beer / sake, if you like) on the way home. Faster than a car, cheaper than gas (let alone parking!), zero stress.
Sorry … got carried away there … but it’s nice living somewhere civilized and wealthy where we can have nice things … like health insurance … public safety such that unaccompanied elementary school children are everywhere … ubiquitous clean public toilets … 7-11s that would qualify as fine dining in the States … trains that, except for the odd American tourist, are as quiet as a library even when jam-packed standing-only shoehorned-in shoulder-to-chin during rush hour …
b&
