I don’t know how many times our screens have taken beatings because people can’t wait a single second more for the prompts to go away. A lady I just checked out hit it so hard I thought it was gonna bust the screen.
Sometimes there’s an obvious part of the terminal where the contactless reader is positioned, like this
But sometimes there’s just a screen, like this with the contactless logo on it.
So on the ones without an obvious spot, do you tap your card on the screen?
I feel like my success rate is like only 20%. Sometimes I tap on the screen and it works, but most times I try to tap on the screen and it does nothing and I feel like an idiot and then end up using the chip anyway.
Why doesn’t it work all the time, even when it has the contactless logo?
I went to a chain restaurant where I've used GPay in the past at a different location. This time, when I held my phone near the terminal, the terminal crashed and started beeping like an alarm was going off. The screen went to some screen indicating that the terminal needed to be reprogrammed. Anyone seen anything like this? Is this just what happens when you try to pay using NFC at a terminal that's not set up for GPay?
Using a physical card is cumbersome and exhausting.
Why YSK: Because this has happened to me twice in my lifetime. It has happened to almost everyone in my family and with many friends. It could happen to you too.
More information on how to spot this and how to respond...
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2018/08/watch-out-card-skimming-gas-pump
More information on how to spot this and how to respond...
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2018/08/watch-out-card-skimming-gas-pump
This has happened to me twice in my lifetime. It has happened to almost everyone in my family too. Be careful and good luck!
