This is really weird for me. In the UK we've been trained to not just allow people to swipe our cards into just any hacked together device.
If the device doesn't look 100% 'official' I wouldn't touch it with my card.
If the device doesn't look 100% 'official' I wouldn't touch it with my card.
do they do restaurant payments different in the UK? would you simply hand your card over to a waiter to pay a bill? what prevents the waiter from just writing down your info? you wouldn't even see a device there.
i think that its just an issue of trust. you won't necessarily trust someone with a hacked together device on a street corner, but if its your cousin jim's glass blowing sculpture store, you'll probably trust anything they run your card through.
plus, in the US at least, we have a fairly robust consumer protection on cards. if you suspect your card to be compromised or see a charge on it you know isn't yours, dispute it and you'll probably have your issues resolved satisfactorily.
The portable POS devices allow the customer to tip as well BTW.
"They" don't run cards much any more. It's a case of consumers putting their own cards into chip+pin devices and keying in their PIN.
Sure @ disputes, we have similar, but it's an extra hassle and not fun.
also, what are your thoughts on online purchases? you're relinquishing a certain degree of control there, too.
disputing isn't fun or convenient, but if it wasn't there or it was worse, i don't know that the CC system would be as popular or successful. its one of the reasons why debit cards had a rocky start.