topic Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC in Credit Cards

Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 23:09:22 GMT

I'm sure everyone's heard about JCPenney disabling NFC on their terminals (supposedly due to Visa's rule change/mandate). Last night I read something about Pei Wei disabling it on theirs as well, so I'm starting to wonder if anyone else has done so/whether this is going to be a trend. Has anyone else noticed more stores disabling it where you live?

FWIW, I haven't seen anyone else around here disable NFC thus far.

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

-Cal- — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 23:43:22 GMT

What was the rule/change from Visa?

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

Merlin3482 — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 23:44:04 GMT

JC Penny did suspend taking contactless payments. This was due to not being able to meet the new standards by VISA of EMV contactless by April 13. I am sure once they update thier equipment it will be business as usuall. Visa has retired and will not longer support MSD contactless.

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 23:45:03 GMT

@-Cal- wrote:
What was the rule/change from Visa?

Visa now requires that contactless transactions run in EMV mode (typically indicated by an AID printing on the receipt after tapping, though this isn't 100% reliable). In the past, a lot of merchants were using the older MSD mode, which is phased out in much of the rest of the world.

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 23:45:58 GMT

@Merlin3482 wrote:
JC Penny did suspend taking contactless payments. This was due to not being able to meet the new standards by VISA of EMV contactless by April 13. I am sure once they update thier equipment it will be business as usuall. Visa has retired and will not longer support MSD contactless.

Beat me to it. Though I think it was more of a convenient excuse for them than any specific issues meeting Visa's deadline as Apple Pay support disappeared from their app too.

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

Gollum — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 08:03:40 GMT

For anyone wondering, the MSD acronym in the context of contactless payments stands for Magnetic Stripe Data. IOW, no chip, or the smartphone/whatever emulates an "old-fashioned" MSD credit card.

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

DaveInAZ — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 13:33:46 GMT

@Gollum wrote:
For anyone wondering, the MSD acronym in the context of contactless payments stands for Magnetic Stripe Data. IOW, no chip, or the smartphone/whatever emulates an "old-fashioned" MSD credit card.

Thanks for the translation! What is "EMV mode (typically indicated by an AID printing on the receipt after tapping)"?

I love contactless, so much faster than inserting the chip, and no annoying honk! honk! honk! telling you to remove the card.

(Software Developers: Did it never occur to you that a pleasant voice saying "please remove your card" would be much nicer than honk! honk! honk! ?)

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 14:21:40 GMT

@DaveInAZ wrote:

(Software Developers: Did it never occur to you that a pleasant voice saying "please remove your card" would be much nicer than honk! honk! honk! ?)

I'm sure that UX researchers found that the pleasant voice type thing led to many more people leaving their cards. The various nasty noises are effective at getting attention.

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 14:43:03 GMT

Yeah I can (and do) tune out the voice but not one of those sirens.

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

Anonymous — Wed, 01 May 2019 12:27:03 GMT

In the past, I had a Chase Flexible Rewards Visa that had the "blink" option along with a Citi Dividend MasterCard with a "Pay Pass" option. The contact less Tap & Pay was a great idea but the merchant base seemed not to have installed such software. As we know the old options of contact less went away.

Now I love my new Chase contact less "Tap & Pay" card and it has been used. Faster than paying with cash or fiddling around (remember, "Rome burned while Nero fiddled") with other options.

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

iced — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 17:54:00 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Merlin3482 wrote:
JC Penny did suspend taking contactless payments. This was due to not being able to meet the new standards by VISA of EMV contactless by April 13. I am sure once they update thier equipment it will be business as usuall. Visa has retired and will not longer support MSD contactless.
Beat me to it. Though I think it was more of a convenient excuse for them than any specific issues meeting Visa's deadline as Apple Pay support disappeared from their app too.

Honestly, it's a minor miracle JCP is even still solvent. I give them (and Sears and K-Mart) 5-10 years before they go the way of Toys-R-Us/Montgomery Ward. They can barely keep stores open, let alone update their point-of-sale infrastructure.

As for contactless/mobile pay in general, I'm seeing a significant swing towards more businesses taking it. Places that didn't take it 6 months ago now take it, and even some surprising mom-and-pop places are taking it (just used it at the local fromagerie). There's still a few surprising exceptions in franchises (looking at you, Chipotle) and it's still largely devoid in finer dining, though some restaurants are finally starting to catch up with the rest of the civilized world and bring the handheld terminals to the table instead of walking off with my card. Most of those handhelds ive run into have taken contactless. I've even used contactless at food trucks.

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

Gollum — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 23:26:01 GMT

@iced wrote:
Honestly, it's a minor miracle JCP is even still solvent. I give them (and Sears and K-Mart) 5-10 years before they go the way of Toys-R-Us/Montgomery Ward. They can barely keep stores open, let alone update their point-of-sale infrastructure.

As for contactless/mobile pay in general, I'm seeing a significant swing towards more businesses taking it. Places that didn't take it 6 months ago now take it, and even some surprising mom-and-pop places are taking it (just used it at the local fromagerie). There's still a few surprising exceptions in franchises (looking at you, Chipotle) and it's still largely devoid in finer dining, though some restaurants are finally starting to catch up with the rest of the civilized world and bring the handheld terminals to the table instead of walking off with my card. Most of those handhelds ive run into have taken contactless. I've even used contactless at food trucks.

I used to go to a little restaurant that I really liked. It was inside a mom-and-pop grocery store. When I asked the guy who owned and ran the restaurant if his gadget could do tap and pay, he said yes, and he thought he could even take Bitcoin, which amused us both. He has since closed his little restaurant, and reportedly has a food truck now, but I haven't found a schedule for its appearances yet.

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 23:29:09 GMT

@iced wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Merlin3482 wrote:
JC Penny did suspend taking contactless payments. This was due to not being able to meet the new standards by VISA of EMV contactless by April 13. I am sure once they update thier equipment it will be business as usuall. Visa has retired and will not longer support MSD contactless.
Beat me to it. Though I think it was more of a convenient excuse for them than any specific issues meeting Visa's deadline as Apple Pay support disappeared from their app too.
Honestly, it's a minor miracle JCP is even still solvent. I give them (and Sears and K-Mart) 5-10 years before they go the way of Toys-R-Us/Montgomery Ward. They can barely keep stores open, let alone update their point-of-sale infrastructure.

As for contactless/mobile pay in general, I'm seeing a significant swing towards more businesses taking it. Places that didn't take it 6 months ago now take it, and even some surprising mom-and-pop places are taking it (just used it at the local fromagerie). There's still a few surprising exceptions in franchises (looking at you, Chipotle) and it's still largely devoid in finer dining, though some restaurants are finally starting to catch up with the rest of the civilized world and bring the handheld terminals to the table instead of walking off with my card. Most of those handhelds ive run into have taken contactless. I've even used contactless at food trucks.

In my experience, even the chip enabled restaurants still take cards away for the most part. I'm not sure pay at the table will ever become nearly as common as elsewhere simply because chip and signature makes that hard to justify on the restaurant's side.

That said, at least with contactless cards, servers can just tap them for customers (unlike with phones and other devices).

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

Anonymous — Wed, 01 May 2019 00:42:50 GMT

@DaveInAZ wrote:
@Gollum wrote:
For anyone wondering, the MSD acronym in the context of contactless payments stands for Magnetic Stripe Data. IOW, no chip, or the smartphone/whatever emulates an "old-fashioned" MSD credit card.
Thanks for the translation! What is "EMV mode (typically indicated by an AID printing on the receipt after tapping)"?

I love contactless, so much faster than inserting the chip, and no annoying honk! honk! honk! telling you to remove the card.
(Software Developers: Did it never occur to you that a pleasant voice saying "please remove your card" would be much nicer than honk! honk! honk! ?)

Most places by me don't have any sounds.

The Trader Joe's, however, plays a quick & cheery little jiggle.

I once asked, "if a card gets declined does it go 'WOMP WOMP WOMMMMP?'"

The guy laughed but sadly said it doesn't.

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

mikesonthemend — Wed, 01 May 2019 02:27:35 GMT

@Gollum wrote:
I used to go to a little restaurant that I really liked. It was inside a mom-and-pop grocery store. When I asked the guy who owned and ran the restaurant if his gadget could do tap and pay, he said yes, and he thought he could even take Bitcoin, which amused us both. He has since closed his little restaurant, and reportedly has a food truck now, but I haven't found a schedule for its appearances yet.

Small business that use Square are miles ahead of large chains, when it comes to "fintech."

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

zerofire — Thu, 02 May 2019 01:03:31 GMT

I do not know about no longer accepting it but around here a lot of merchants have it but have no clue that they do. I have had plenty of places that just got the shock of their lives that they had it when I waved it for them after seeing the model. Clearly RTFM never crossed the businesses minds.

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

mongstradamus — Thu, 02 May 2019 02:47:02 GMT

I personally have noticed a few grocery stores that used to do nfc payments like Apple Pay or google pay no longer offer that. They say just insert or swipe now.

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

Anonymous — Thu, 02 May 2019 12:14:40 GMT

@zerofire wrote:
I do not know about no longer accepting it but around here a lot of merchants have it but have no clue that they do. I have had plenty of places that just got the shock of their lives that they had it when I waved it for them after seeing the model. Clearly RTFM never crossed the businesses minds.

I get weird looks around here too when I lay my card on top of the reader....even weirder ones when it works. It gives me a nice giggle.

As far as JCP staying in business goes. I think people forget that not all of us live in big cities. Outside of Wal-Mart, and one Belk, JCP is one of a small handful of major department stores within 50 miles of me. Suffice it to say, they still do a pretty good business.

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

Anonymous — Thu, 02 May 2019 15:32:51 GMT

@mongstradamus wrote:
I personally have noticed a few grocery stores that used to do nfc payments like Apple Pay or google pay no longer offer that. They say just insert or swipe now.

I know Safeway had issues with contactless for a bit but AFAIK those have been resolved. I haven't noticed any dropoffs by grocery stores recently, though I haven't been to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's for a bit.

Re: Stores that no longer accept contactless/NFC

mongstradamus — Thu, 02 May 2019 16:18:35 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@mongstradamus wrote:
I personally have noticed a few grocery stores that used to do nfc payments like Apple Pay or google pay no longer offer that. They say just insert or swipe now.
I know Safeway had issues with contactless for a bit but AFAIK those have been resolved. I haven't noticed any dropoffs by grocery stores recently, though I haven't been to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's for a bit.

TJ and WF are the only two that I know still have nfc payments. There is a korean chain supermarket here in the Northeast that no longer does nfc payments. Its one of the reasons i think the apple credit card isn't a good fit for me since there are hardly any places that offer the ability to use nfc payments. I am still surprised that no gas stations offer it here as well.