Cashier was shocked when I used my contactless card in middle of SF. She nearly screamed "WHAT DID YOU JUST DO???". Meanwhile even in smallest villages of Europe no one bats an eye anymore. America is bizarre!
I just flew through 4 different airports in the last week, and every single one of them, the payment device had a chip reader, but all of them were blocked with a piece of cardstock instructing the person to swipe.
Why? (I think they're all run by the same company, HMSHost, who, AFAICT as a traveler, has a monopoly on airport food.)
This is a perfect example of how bonkers/stupid banking is in the USA. If the retailer allows you to do a chip/pin transaction (much more secure than a magnetic stripe) THEY are liable for any fraud. Whereas a magnetic stripe transaction (super insecure) places all liability on the payment processor. So there is a perverse incentive to stick with old crappy technology. https://qz.com/717876/the-chip-card-transition-in-the-us-has...
Yeah America is fairly bizarre in what is advanced and what is from 30 years ago. But you do get things like generous rewards cards, no exchange fee international ATM & credit cards on many accounts and so on. Not to mention cheap consumer goods.
