Because in most countries you don’t need a phone, internet, and maybe even an app to solve this problem.
A lot of countries have had chip cards decades before the USA. When you are done eating they bring the bill and a terminal, which looks a thick cell phone, to your table. You insert your card, type your pin, pay, and leave. Bonus: you never get your credit card taken elsewhere by a stranger.
If you live in a country which sadly still do not pay serving staff a living wage, the terminal also allows you to enter gratuity as an amount or as a percentage, while you pay. No need to do any math.
The phone payment seems like such a tech-bro solution for a very simple problem which has a very simple solution which is already in place nearly everywhere!
I don’t understand people’s disdain for the pay through your phone model. It’s so nice
Because in most countries you don’t need a phone, internet, and maybe even an app to solve this problem.
A lot of countries have had chip cards decades before the USA. When you are done eating they bring the bill and a terminal, which looks a thick cell phone, to your table. You insert your card, type your pin, pay, and leave. Bonus: you never get your credit card taken elsewhere by a stranger.
If you live in a country which sadly still do not pay serving staff a living wage, the terminal also allows you to enter gratuity as an amount or as a percentage, while you pay. No need to do any math.
The phone payment seems like such a tech-bro solution for a very simple problem which has a very simple solution which is already in place nearly everywhere!
It’s not the use of phone as much as the ability to dine at your own pace.
Server arrives, but you’ve been chatting and catching up, so you’re not ready to order. Then you get ready and server is nowhere to be seen.
Ready for another drink, sit on empty a little too long looking around to flag him down.
Ready to leave but have to sit and wait for the server to bring the terminal.
Instead, scan the QR to order, add items whenever, pay whenever you want to leave
I just don’t like yet another closed-source proprietary app on my phone that I need to interact with society.
In my experience, this is all done through the browser