People who don’t carry their bank cards with them

[Auburngal]

I was in Sainsbury’s this morning and systems are down. No contactless, chip n pin taking ages to go through. Unable to buy gift cards, mobile top up vouchers.

Systems going down like this happen not very often but when they do it’s awful.

On the self scan next to me a woman screamed at the manager on why she can’t pay on her mobile.

Why do many people don’t carry their bank cards anymore? The cards don’t weigh much. Plus if the contactless payment system goes down, hopefully their card will go through via chip n pin. Also they won’t look like idiots either. No sympathy for these.

Regarding contactless payments- sometimes your bank, NOT the retailer etc asks you to do a CnP payment as part of security. “I dunno my PIN”. You can change your PIN to any number you want (not 1234, 1111) at any ATM under PIN services.

You're saying that people should carry bank cards in case the banking system goes down but they can still use chip and pin?

Why are you not suggesting that people carry large amounts of cash around for the same scenario?

I’m with you. Mainly because I work in retail and sick of people being dicks to me and my colleagues for things that are out of our control. Like what is happening in Sainsburys today.

Because I often don’t take my handbag if I’m just popping out to the shop. Just my phone in my pocket. Apple (and presumably Android) pay don’t ask you to enter your card. Obviously in the case of total IT failure i’d be going home disappointed, but them’s the breaks!

Times change and technology moves on. Cards are old fashioned. It's another thing to find a pocket for and try not to lose.
I don't even carry a key anymore as we've added a fancy digital lock to the front door.

Because why carry two things (card & phone) when you can simply carry one (phone). Currently, the amount of times contactless payment isn’t available is vanishingly small. A card isn’t necessary 99% of the time.

It wasn't great.

Luckily I'd heard about it before I went, I always have my card holder in my bag but 9/10 times if I'm running into a shop I only have my phone. It's just more convenient. I literally have my PIN number saved on my notes app because I don't know it. The world is changing. Thankfully things like this don't happen that often

Same.

I'd have summoned DH with my card in this scenario though! Or gone home and returned in a bit!

People should carry cash.

I feel like the more pertinent question here should be "why don't people just not act like total bellends"?!

If I'm in a shop and electronics go down so I can't pay using my phone then it's simply me who is inconvenienced, I wouldn't be in any way frustrated or annoyed at staff, because I'm not a total prick!

I’d have been caught out if I’d gone to Sainsbury’s today without checking. I nearly always just have my phone on me now. I know which places tend to need a card (eg some car parks) but for the last 2-3 years I’ve used my phone with not a single problem ever in many many places, never had an issue in a supermarket. So I just don’t see it as a risk and it means I don’t need to take a bag or anything- my phone is always on me but I sometimes have to hunt around in the house for my wallet cos I hardly ever need it.

I’ll likely be more cautious in future after this event though.

If the systems are down, how would having a bank card help? 🤷‍♀️. Using a phone and using a card is the same technology.

I do! Just in case my phone is out of charge or something, I also carry an emergency £20. Bank card and emergency £20 are in the back of my phone case so at some point I wll lose it and all my careful planning will be for naught.

Totally agree, it’ll be a terrible day when we lose cash. I always carry it in a desperate attempt to try and contribute to keeping it alive.

I don’t carry my card, if the system was down the system so be it, I’d just not scream at managers etc and come back when it’s back up.

Exactly.

I was in a shop the other day whose whole system had gone down and they were only accepting payments in cash. I wouldn’t start calling people ‘stupid’ as you did OP for not carrying enough cash with them for those sort of uncommon situations.

I always take my card (old school, used to still take my cheque book for ages when chip and pin first became a thing!) but rarely need to use it.

Regardless of attitude to risk of systems being down, the woman was way out of order.

Systems going down like this happen not very often but when they do it’s awful.

Awful? Nobody died. It is a relatively minor inconvenience on the very rare occasions it happens. Abandon your shopping trolley, go home get your card/go to another shop. It is more awful for the staff/shop than the customers.

Because it’s utterly delightful to pop to the shops child free and with nothing but a phone and car key in your pocket.

My anxiety would not let me go and do a full shop without a backup that’s for sure. But I would assume the card system is the same as the phone pay system. So the sainsburys thing is just a problem with the phone payments then?

No excuse for shouting at someone though.

Yeah, me too. I don't need to carry anything extra because they're in my phone case (between the plastic cover and the back of the phone) but I always have a way of paying in an emergency

According to the BBC article some Sainsbury's were only accepting cash because the chip and pin wasn't working either? So having my cards on me wouldn't have made much difference, unless the cashier would have allowed me to put my shop to one side and go to the cashpoint?

I have a bank card in the car for "emergencies" and have some cash in my phone case for "emergencies" but I walk around with my phone and my keys. I use my phone to pay for everything. But I would never scream at a person for something out of their control... or something in their control for that matter.

You don't randomly get asked to put your pin in if you are using ApplePay/ Google Pay.

You authorise it with your fingerprint or pin to make the contactless payment in the first place with your (e.g phone) so it's far more secure than carrying your bank card with you.

I travel light - I rarely use a bag which means I also don't carry a purse. My purse and bank cards sit safely at home and I use my phone and my watch to pay and also store all my loyalty cards on.

I always keep about £40 cash in the car in case of an issue at a fuel station - funnily because that's the only place I've ever had my card declined due to system errors!

I tried to shop at Sainsburys this morning for bread/milk and a few other bits, was told contactless unavailable so I went across the road to M&S food and found that for the basics I needed they were actually cheaper than Sainsburys, so all turned out well!

Because they are usually young people

I always keep my bank card on my phone case. It's no hassle.

Not sure about today’s issues but a few weeks ago the wifi was down at a nearby Sainsbury’s so no contactless but chip and pin still worked. Guess it can store the transaction until the system is back online and it gets processed?

When I was in my teens I worked in a clothes shop, on a big retail park. The only cash machine was (annoyingly) right at the other side of the park, a good 10 minute walk away. Our card machines went down one day, customers were either having to walk to the cashpoint, or leave their shopping. One customer’s mother whipped out her cheque book, paid for the shopping, and berated her daughter for not always carrying her own cheque book.

Today, you’d be lucky to find a shop that even accepts cheques as payment. Time moves on, things change.