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Comment by jon-wood | Hacker News Reader

This is a very US biased thing. In the UK it’s been months since I last encountered a card reader that didn’t do contactless, and almost as long since I’ve been told a place doesn’t accept cards. These days you’ll get looked at funny if you put your card in the machine unless you’re doing a substantial transaction.

I still carry a small amount of cash on me just in case, but the same £10 note has been sitting unused in my wallet since November now, slowly gathering dust.

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Here in Australia we've had contactless for close to a decade I'd guess. All our terminals have been updated so the only place you really see a terminal that can't do contactless these days is broken ones where that component seems to be malfunctioning.

I bought coffee from the usual place today, where the card machine was broken. Everyone uses Apple / Android pay. The lady serving there was as confused by cash as the customers were.

There were conversations about bank notes because some hadn’t seen the newer ones before, despite them being around for what seems like ages now.

I too had a note sitting in my wallet waiting for such a circumstance. Now I have change and it’s weird that it feels alien. We used to do this for everything.

> months since I last encountered a card reader that didn’t do contactless

months? Its been years since I've seen a card reader that didn't have contactless.

The first place I ever saw it was 2010 at a rural Australian Mcdonalds.

Fun development: MOST US cards don't do contactless at all, which led to some annoying interactions for both US and UK merchants when we were visiting last summer.

UNTIL I realized that ApplePay worked on every contactless terminal. The bartenders & clerks looked at me a little funny, but when they realized they didn't have to do the goofy exception process required for a purchase signature, they didn't care.

Even so, though, cash is still king. I always have $100-200 on me.

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