In Canada, I haven’t seen a credit card taken by the waiter for payment since maybe the late 90s. However, the dozens of times that I’ve gone to a sit-down restaurant in the States, I have not once had a waiter bring the machine to the table. Having the machine brought over is much faster and convenient, and allows the customer to be sure of what is charged, so why hasn’t this caught on?
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I have been told it is because there are so many banks, here in Canada we have I think the five major ones and credit unions. We’ve had Interac forever and it’s a lot easier to get a small number of banks to use the same system then the US which literally has thousands of banks.
Interac is what we use instead of Venmo or other such apps.
As a Canadian what I take issue with is the usual order in which a CC payment is made at a US restaurant. Waiter takes your card and runs a pre-auth amount of the bill before tip. You get your card and bill. You add your tip and total it yourself, then leave with card and a copy of a receipt that doesn’t include the tip. I had a $3 tip charged as $30 without any way to dispute it. A second area where fraud happens
I’ve just now learned that in the US restaurants take your cc away, and I’m really shocked. For people saying the machines are expensive: here in Brazil (a fucking thrid world country) even the street vendors bring you portable machines for cc payment, although I think they use lease contracts for them. Also we are acutely aware of the dangers of handing your cc to anyone thanks to possible fraud issues. How does these US restaurants deal with credit cards that requires you to enter a PIN to confirm the purchase?
I live in the USA now (originally from Canada). I can saw that the US banking system is completely inferior to any country I’ve ever been to. The issues around just moving around are non-existent in other countries, but they are huge hassles in the USA. It’s super odd, because you would think the US has a sophisticated banking system.
In this case I believe it’s a “if it ain’t broke” type thing. It could possibly be done better but since it’s not costing anything they don’t change. Maybe to bring it to the table they would need 6-7 terminals instead of 2 in the back and maybe that’s the reason.
As an American who frequently travels aboard I’ve noticed the US is always 5-10 years behind most countries in day to day gadgetry like this.
Because of chip and pin verification. In the States, they can still just swipe the card and complete the transaction, or bring you the printed slip to sign. Here, we can slide in the card and type our pin, and it’s done.
Q: Why don’t they bring the machine to my table?
A: The machine is tethered to the wall.
Q: Why don’t they buy the wireless version?
A: It’s more expensive. You wanna pay for it?
Q: No.
A: Ok then.
In the next episode of ELI5: Why do restaurants in countries outside of US use wireless credit card readers when they’re more expensive?
They do both in the US. Switching POS systems is costly so most businesses run their old crappy one into the ground.
Anytime I’ve expressed to my server that I was in a rush, they’ve accommodated me. That being said, the presumption is that time isn’t of the essence.
The server drops the check and leaves. That allows the party to figure out who is paying and how much. Gives them a chance to look over the bill.
It’s also like the wrap up music at awards shows. The final conversations get to be had. Closure on the night. The credit card gets taken and everyone knows when it comes back the meal is over.
I’ve never ever ever worried about credit cards getting stolen. A couple of times in my life I’ve had some fraudulent purchases. Both times the cc noticed within a day wiped the charges and sent me a new card. It’s a non issue
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