I have a possibly very stupid question.
I’ll be travelling down from Canada and I only ever use digital payments up here (tap and go) and I have a prepaid USD card but digital only. How ubiquitous is tap and go there? Would I be able to pay via tapping my phone at gas pumps, restaurants, and tourist attractions?
Just wondering because a few years ago I remember not being able to pay this way down there.
Thank you! 🙂
Edit: travelling in WA, OR, and CA
26 comments
Depends where you’re going to be. Where I live, tap-to-pay is usable at probably 80-90% of places. My impression from past questions on this sub is that it varies, though.
EDIT: Actually, sit-down restaurants may be an issue. At most (but not all) restaurants here, you still need to hand your card to the server to have it run at a machine, which will be a challenge if you’re using a phone only. The number of places with terminals they bring to your table is increasing, but is probably still below 50%. You should ask up front whether they can accommodate phone payment. Counter-service spots where you pay as you order should all be fine, though.
It’s showing up in more and more places. The last year or so it’s really taken off in the Seattle area. I’d say it’s close to 75% of the places I go accept tap and go. In sit down restaurants though, it’s still pretty rare sadly.
It’s available in most places. That said, don’t be surprised if some smaller mom and pop places don’t have it yet.
Nearly everywhere. I would keep your card on hand just in case though.
My workplace accepts Apple Pay and the like but I wouldn’t call it “ubiquitous” by any stretch. I’d get a physical prepaid Visa card for your trip just to be on the safe side.
They’re becoming more common. But not everyone has them. The major retailers do though.
Some others are saying it’s at around 75% of the places you’ll be spending money. Depending on where you’re going to be it maybe a lot less than that. I live in the greater Atlanta area, 45 minutes or so from the trendy part of Atlanta and I only have tap and go at less than 30% of the places I spend money. It’s not available at Walmart, most gas stations don’t have it at the pay at the pump station, many restaurants, nor is it at grocery stores. You may want to have a back up plan in case you can’t find tap to pay.
Almost everywhere I have been has it. If you can’t tap and go (restaurants and some gas stations and apparently Walmart still won’t do it?) then you can just insert the chipped card.
Edit: oooops missed that you meant phone not card. Phone payments are less accepted in the US in general. Lots of small businesses won’t support it and some gas stations don’t support it at the pump but will if you go inside and prepay.
The Walmart by me doesn’t have it. Fucking cheap bastards
Another Canadian here! I was in NYC recently and most retailers had tap from what I saw, some restaurants too. However, I made sure to mostly pay in cash because I didn’t want to deal with the cross border fees on top of the exchange rate.
I swear, some of the places you wouldn’t expect to have it, have it. And then I go to a large chain grocery store sometimes and they won’t have it. But all in all, most places do tap and go now.
Where I’m at, tap-to-pay is pretty ubiquitous. The only time I use my physical card is at sit down restaurants, some gas stations, and Lowe’s. I use cash for the local donut shop. Beyond that, I use my phone for everything else.
It’s very common. I use Apple Pay 99% of the time. The only problem might be restaurants, since they take your card. They don’t bring the reader to you like in Canada.
Almost everywhere, except for some situations.
Almost any restaurant where you pay at the counter, most gas stations, most grocery stores, etc.
Some places where you can’t are Walmart (they want you to use their app I think, so they don’t have it) and most sit-down restaurants. As others have said, you usually hand over your card instead of having a terminal brought to you.
I imagine most tourist attractions would accept tap payments, as well. It’s becoming more common to not even accept cash, and if a place doesn’t take cash they’ll almost certainly accept tap payment.
I would say most places in most cities have it. Outside of that most small towns have at least a card reader. I will tell you it’s been a good while since I’ve shopped at a place that didn’t have tap to pay outside of like flea markets and stuff.
You’ll probably have issues at sit-down restaurants. I’d bring an actual credit card with you if you can.
Ehh, it common enough but you’ll definitely need a back up form of payment.
Most but not all places will have it
Walmart and Home Depot are still, predictably, the major holdouts, who would rather focus on mobile payments rather than contactless cards, even to they purchase hardware capable of the latter.
Elsewhere it’s pretty common, although not universal. Gas pumps were very slow to adopt the feature, and many still don’t.
It’s slowly catching on, I’d say 70% of stores and restaurants, 30% of gas station pumps. Gas pumps are coming around slower because stations rarely upgrade their pumps unless they absolutely have to, but chip readers are so slow because they lock your card in while the purchase goes through
Today it’s pretty much everywhere
Anecdotal but everywhere except the laundromat
Even the restaurants that don’t seem to have it will probably have an ApplePay_able terminal if you ask for it
In my area at least I can use my phone/watch to pay at just about every store I go to (or tap a card, it’s just easier to use ApplePay for me). Sit down restaurants are different though. Post-pandemic it’s an interesting mix now:
* Some are back to “take card, go swipe it, bring back to sign”
* Some give you a paper bill with a QR code on it you can just scan and pay on your phone
* Will have a QR code on the table you scan that keeps track of your table’s order and can just pay there via your phone when ready
* Will bring a handheld reader to the table you can swipe, chip read, tap, or use a phone/watch with
It’s becoming more and more prevalent here. Where I am I hardly ever need to use my physical card. That being said, some shops, especially in rural areas, have older card reader technology. And weirdly enough I can’t get my phone to work on Wal-Mart or Home Depot terminals. So it’s still a good idea to keep your card or cash handy.
Just carry a little bit of cash for those places that tap and go don’t work.
It used to be C.R.E.A.M, after Covid, now I see some places that don’t accept cash. But the places that don’t accept cash usually have tap and go.
Yes I’m at WA, in case you couldn’t tell by my username 😂
Oregonian here. It’s actually not that common. Some large retailers are doing it, and you might be okay in Portland, but most likely, you will need to use a physical card at some locations.