Contactless Payment
Something that I have always wanted to share in my blog is how people pay for products and services here in the UK. They pay contactless literally for everything- transportation, shopping, eating out, and so on. It’s a new concept I gradually accepted and enjoyed wholeheartedly.
The first time I came across the word ‘contactless’ payment, I didn’t fully grasp what it meant. When we were told to bring extra cash from the Philippines to the UK for personal allowance, I made an extra effort to exchange my Philippine peso for US dollars. Then from the airport in London which I regret because the conversion rate is much lesser in airports, I exchanged them for UK pounds. That was the first time I ever held pounds in my hands.
For the first few weeks in the UK, I paid by cash. Don’t get me wrong, they still accept cash if you have it. However, later on, I realized how convenient it truly is to pay via debit card contactless. All I need to do is either swipe it or insert it into their payment machine which looks like the one below.
Easy Contactless Transactions
Most of the banks here have that feature. We can even pay through a virtual card on our phones if we didn’t bring the actual card.
Paying for a donut is the same too. This was when I bought Krispy Kreme for snacks. I just told the seller I wanted two. He tapped something on his computer screen. Then the amount popped on the payment machine so then I swiped my debit card. It was approved. End of transaction.
It’s very easy and convenient. It saves time too.
This is just one of the many interesting differences I noticed here if compared to the countries I have been to and lived in in the past. Without a doubt, it shows how advanced the UK is as a country. However, I am still looking forward to the other countries to catch up. I will greatly help and improve the customers’ and entrepreneurs’ experiences.
For more posts about my life in the UK, please click here.
