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Apple unveils contactless payments via Tap to Pay on iPhone

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Re: Apple unveils contactless payments via Tap to Pay on iPhone

#631

Post by fomine3 »

dagmx wrote: post #208
frb wrote: post #195

> Apple will work closely with leading payment platforms and app developers across the payments and commerce industry to offer Tap to Pay on iPhone to millions of merchants in the US. Is it just me feeling that Apple is again playing gatekeeper to iPhone APIs and hindering true competition by "working with leading platforms" aka. the big players, like Stripe or PayPal, essentially leaving startups and smaller players…

They do that when they're concerned about bad actors or want to prove out the API first with a controlled set of people who are willing to experience breakage

NFC API itself don't enable user to steal from contactless credit card. See Android.

Re: Apple unveils contactless payments via Tap to Pay on iPhone

#632

Post by profmonocle »

Reason077 wrote: post #475
profmonocle wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something I was thinking about the other day is how some modern credit cards technically have four different ways to pay. Swiping pressure-sensitive paper over the raised numbers (the original method) is still possible, though I haven't seen a merchant actually do this since maybe the mid-2000's. Then you have magstripe, chip, and RFID all in the same card. Pretty impressive backwards compatibility, although I think…

> "Swiping pressure-sensitive paper over the raised numbers (the original method) is still possible, though I haven't seen a merchant actually do this since maybe the mid-2000's." I've noticed all the UK-issued cards I've received in the last year or two no longer have the raised numbers. Just the same details printed in ink on the card. Quite an improvement as the card details are easier to read now! Still seem to h…

Not sure about Europe, but here in the US you can use the magstripe if your chip is broken. After three failed scans with the chip it lets you use the magstripe. I've always felt like it defeats the purpose - if the idea is that the chip is harder to clone, couldn't scammers just make fake cards with phony chips, and do that when they use it?

I'd say maybe it raises fraud alerts faster, but I had a friend who did this for every credit payment for like two months before she finally had them replace her broken card. (No idea why, since it was free.)

Re: Apple unveils contactless payments via Tap to Pay on iPhone

#633

Post by rconti »

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #608
girvo wrote: post #557

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow really? That’s surprising for some reason. Here in Australia that’s super common, RFID is in every card you can think of. If I go to the farmers market on the weekend, they all accept cash or tap-to-pay with a Square tap-only reader, and that’s it.

Payments and mobile service are some of the more weird things about the US given how easily startups or new tech is developed there. There last time I was in the US was years ago. I still had to swipe my card in a few places and getting a new SIM involved me having to talk to someone. By this time in Australia contactless payments were almost everywhere and you just needed to go to a convenience store to get a SIM an…

Yeah, the US is finally starting to catch up with contactless. Other countries have been strange as well. My understanding is it was popular in Canada for awhile, but then terminals started disappearing?

The first time I was able to use ApplePay (as an American) was on a trip to NZ. In fact, the clerk at the gas station was shocked to see someone pay with their phone, even though this had been possible with Android for some time, and even though contactless itself was old hat there.

As for the SIM thing, that just depends so much on the business model and regulatory environment. Pay as you go is relatively unpopular in the US, and the availability reflects that. But it's not like Italy, where I had to hand over my passport (!) to get a SIM, or Germany, where I had to document where I was "living". I've heard it's even worse in, say, Chile, where you virtually need to be a citizen or permanent resident to get a SIM.

Re: Apple unveils contactless payments via Tap to Pay on iPhone

#634

Post by profmonocle »

samstave wrote: post #457
profmonocle wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something I was thinking about the other day is how some modern credit cards technically have four different ways to pay. Swiping pressure-sensitive paper over the raised numbers (the original method) is still possible, though I haven't seen a merchant actually do this since maybe the mid-2000's. Then you have magstripe, chip, and RFID all in the same card. Pretty impressive backwards compatibility, although I think…

I wonder how many trillions of credit cards have become microplastics in our oceans over the many decades...

It's probably trivial to other sources of plastic pollution. Most people get what, maybe one new credit card and one new debit card every 4-5 years? By volume it's nothing compared to the average person's consumption of single-use plastics like packaging, etc.

Re: Apple unveils contactless payments via Tap to Pay on iPhone

#635

Post by munk-a »

profmonocle wrote: post #627
munk-a wrote: post #555

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, in all fairness, Uber mostly killed the whole taxi industry by being really really illegal and not following any of the rules - including those meant for regulatory capture and those for safety. About 3000 women are sexually assaulted by Uber drivers every year - I'm not saying that doesn't happen with taxis too, just be careful about painting a too-rosy picture.

I'm not sure how it was in the early days of Uber, but these days Uber does background checks on drivers, and IIRC they have for quite some time. Is there really any reason to believe that cab companies would do a better job of weeding out horrible people than Uber? I can't imagine they do much more than a background check.

There is legal oversight and reporting required from conventional cab companies. And yes this was very much from the early days of Uber - when people cheered on the fact that they identified regulators and refused to book rides for them so they couldn't formally record violations.

Re: Apple unveils contactless payments via Tap to Pay on iPhone

#636

Post by bouzouk »

On Android, this has been a project in Europe for a few years, called SoftPOS, that should be coming live in coming weeks/month (ie. be able to acquire a contactless card payment using only your phone- no other hardware).

Apple declined to be part of it and thus it was expected that they release there own version soon.

Re: Apple unveils contactless payments via Tap to Pay on iPhone

#637

Post by Crosseye_Jack »

zumu wrote: post #474
anonymouse008 wrote: post #393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The real news is Apple specifically took a non competitive stance — making the API available to third parties like Stripe - rather than building in house, leveraging Apple Card connections, or similar

They can always take a competitive stance later, once small businesses have gotten rid of all their PoS hardware. This makes that initial adoption much easier.

While it will reduce how often card readers will be used, card readers will be around for a while yet. In many markets contactless (atlest with real plastic) still has limits requiring the card holder to validate themselves (in the UK it’s a max of £100 per transaction and £200 over multiple transactions) and some card holders dislike contactless completely so have cards without it.

So in those markets you will still need supporting hardware for the times you can’t accept contactless or risk losing the sale.

Re: Apple unveils contactless payments via Tap to Pay on iPhone

#639

Post by benreesman »

0des wrote: post #199
ra7 wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you expand how Square is different market segment? I thought POS terminal was one of their primary products.

Square is for small or entry level merchants who may be in their first year and can't afford an actual production grade POS or web integration, stripe is for those who've realized they've reached that point or have encountered Square's limits, and by them moving into the entry level market by supporting this method of transacting with iDevices, I'd say square should be considering their next move.

In what way would you consider merchants to be scale-bifurcated along the card-present/e-commerce line?

Re: Apple unveils contactless payments via Tap to Pay on iPhone

#640

Post by vineyardmike »

stefan_ wrote: post #583
sebzim4500 wrote: post #572

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you concerned about a malicious employee using their own iphone to steal the money? Why couldn't they give you their own square terminal? On that note, when you pay cash why can't they just pocket whatever you give them? I don't see why you care anyway, they would be stealing from the store, not from you. You would already have whatever item you are buying.

Because I can somewhat trust the Square terminal will show the correct amount? If I swipe some random persons iPhone, whats stopping them from showing a $10 total and charging $1000? Is the iPhone gonna print a receipt?

You don't have to trust them, you trust your credit card company. All you have to do is tell them its fraud and the charge goes away.
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