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Tried paying with my phone at a food truck in Austin and it actually worked | banking and payments community - Discusd

Tried paying with my phone at a food truck in Austin and it actually worked

I always figured mobile payments were just for rich people or tech bros. But last week at a taco truck on South Congress, my card reader said it wasn't taking cards. On a whim I held my phone up to the little terminal and the payment went through in about 3 seconds. The guy just shrugged and said it's been like that for a year. Now I'm wondering how many other small businesses out there already accept tap-to-pay without me ever knowing. Has anyone else had a random merchant surprise you with a payment method you didn't expect?

4 comments

4 Comments

jenny5805mo ago

My buddy tried to buy a kolache from a random cart downtown, pulled out cash, and the guy pointed at a little tablet and said "just tap your watch." He didn't even know his smartwatch could do that, blew his mind.

kevin_carr5mo ago

Tell him to check his wallet settings first, some watches have that turned off by default and you gotta toggle it on manually. I had the exact same thing happen at a taco stand last summer, felt like a total boomer fumbling around while the vendor waited. Once you set it up though it's actually way easier than digging for cash or pulling out your phone, especially if your hands are full. Just a quick tap on the reader and you're done, no signing or anything. Only catch is keep an eye on your battery, contactless payments drain it faster than you'd think.

angelac635mo ago

I mean is it really that big of a deal though, it's just tapping a phone.

martin.vera5mo ago

Do you really think tapping your phone or watch is basically the same as someone digging through your bag for a wallet? The whole point is you're not pulling anything out, it's just a quick tap and you're done.