I’d read our it update that it was rolled out now. You in co-op too? I did think it odd as things rarely all land on 1 day. But we’ve generally been ahead of the curve with contactless!
The minimum spend thing just means that’s business is run poorly. There are plenty of card contracts available allowing for microtransactions without a fixed charge - just a tiny %
Good that they’ve changed but I really think they should be dropping the whole “you can only use mobile payments over the limit if it’s our own app” thing while all this is going on. Now is not a time to try and force customers into using a proprietary app.
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Of course the hassle in closing your existing card acceptance arrangements (which may have onerous exit terms, such as auto renewing long contracts), doing paperwork for new system, and then receiving and installing the system, all makes it easier said than done
I’d imagine for many small businesses the amount they can save vs the time spent (and other pressures on thier time) makes it unattractive
Also having a minimum spend has the advantage of encouraging more purchases, some of which will have better margins than the essentials
Yeh I get they’re all constraints but these options have been around for a v long time now so I stand by it’s poorly managed if you’re in that situation and haven’t yet done something about it and it’s impacting your business. This was in response a comment implying that businesses have to have minimums due to fixed charges to accept card which just isn’t reality anymore.
Poorly managed was maybe the wrong term for all of it though. A business decision that I would say is poor maybe is more fair. Everyone has their reasons but a lot of people actively avoid corner shops/small businesses and got to chains for exactly these sorts of reasons.
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Is there a way to know if a store accepts Google/Apple Pay or contactless payments over £30?
Never had much luck with it anywhere, so always just use my card for anything over £20 to be safe. If I could be certain it worked at a higher amount I’d be much happier leaving my cards at home.
Not that I’m aware of, but, apart fromTesco, I’ve not come across one that doesn’t. We must shop in different stores.
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Why not?
Because we are in the middle of a global pandemic and reducing the spread of the virus (by, for example, minimising people touching stuff) is more important than Tesco making a little extra money, or gaining extra data, or whatever the goal is with that app.
Regardless of whether people should or shouldn’t use the Tesco Pay+ app, some people will be at the till and have Apple/Google Pay and not Tesco Pay+ and those people will have to put their card in and touch the pin machine.
So by that logic people not using the Tesco pay+ app when it’s an option, are being selfish then? Bit harsh.
Of course not, there are lots of reasons someone might not be able to or choose to use the app.
I’m saying that a big corporation like Tesco that sells essential products should not insist that users must have have space on their device, know about the limit and the Pay+ app, remember to set up payment before going to the shop, and give them their payment details to be stored on their servers in order to benefit from something that will help people minimise the spread of a virus.
It’s a simple step Tesco could take right now that would benefit many people all across the country. It’s very different from an individual taking that step at much smaller benefit, and I tend to hold companies like Tesco somewhat more accountable because they very much know what they’re doing (they are purposely stopping people using Apple/Android pay with a limit they CHOSE to impose).
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Let’s get this in perspective. They aren’t forcing anyone to do anything. They are still a business not your nanny.
People have plenty of choices, cash, contactless, mobile, chip and pin or their own (Tesco) app. Not to mention people always have the ultimate choice of shopping where they like.
(And all the steps you mention are needed to set up Google/apple pay too.)
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This might interest readers of this thread.
I’ve been thinking of changing from Monzo to Starling for some time, now. What with this, and cheque imaging, I might make the jump.
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What do you mean by “lost”? Do you mean they just die in the middle of a firmware update and that’s it?
Shouldn’t the manufacturer cover that (a device that has a 30% chance of dying during an update is what I call defective), and if not, shouldn’t this be a very good reason to not get terminals from this manufacturer in the future if they consider this normal?
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Tesco doesn’t do it not because of a technical reason but a commercial one. They want to push everyone to use their shitty loyalty card instead. Seems like they don’t want to acknowledge the failure of CurrentC (a similar attempt in the states).
For me their strategy doesn’t seem to be working - my spending at Tesco became pretty much non-existent and in the only case where I spent more than 30£ I ended up doing it over two transactions at the self-checkout. I suggest everyone avoid them whenever possible so that hopefully they backtrack on this stupid decision.
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Another tick in the right column for Starling.
- Free Cash Deposits
- Free Foreign ATM Withdrawals
- Cheque Imaging
- Pot Spending Card
- Higher Contactless Limit
It does seem like theyre really beginning to add up
I really wish Monzo would start giving us more ticks 
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Yep. I’m on iOS and have three Monzo pots. I’ll be able to order them soon. Can’t wait. /s
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Exactly @Rjevski!
I am also familiar with CurrentC, and what a fiasco it turned out to be, and it was simply an inferior method of digital payment compared to Apple and Google Pay.
I think the problem here is twofold.
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Tesco should support the new contactless limit since then more people, whether paying by card, phone or watch could avoid the PIN pad.
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It would be great if even more people could avoid the PIN pad by giving people the option of using high-value contactless via Google or Apple Pay for amounts even above the new limit (which many shops are likely to be given that the government is recommending we shop as infrequently as possible).
Trying to push Tesco Pay+ by locking people out of other options is anti-competitive and is not the right thing for customers. It’s indefensible, and Tesco only get away with it because they are a large supermarket. If your local corner shop told you to download an app especially for use in their store which was useless elsewhere you would laugh at them.
Isn’t it part of the law to stick to £135 as per SCA? I am sure Monzo would be happy to allow the same, but have seen no mention anywhere of it being lifted. They say it is a permanent change as well, which is curious
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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and SCA
The SCA rules aim to reduce fraud. We expect firms during these difficult times to protect consumers from risks, including the risk of unauthorised transactions and fraud. More specifically, we expect firms to monitor their fraud rates and take swift action if they see their fraud rates rising or new patterns of fraud. We also understand that firms are likely to be under significant pressure during this period. So we are bringing in some changes to help.
Contactless payments
We support the use of contactless payments and welcome the industry’s initiative to increase the contactless limit. To further facilitate this, we confirm that, in the current circumstances, we are very unlikely to take enforcement action if a firm does not apply strong customer authentication when the cumulative amount of transaction values has exceeded EUR 150 or five contactless transactions in a row. But this is only as long as the firm sufficiently mitigates the risk of unauthorised transactions and fraud, by having the necessary fraud monitoring tools and systems in place and taking swift action where appropriate.
E-commerce
The current challenges arising from Covid 19 are likely to affect the planned implementation of SCA for e-commerce. We welcome the progress so far and the industry’s continuing effort to meet milestones ahead of 14 March 2021. We will work closely with the industry to agree any changes to the milestones and timelines that may be needed.
Online banking
The SCA requirements for online banking have applied since 14 September 2019 (with an adjustment period until 14 March 2020). For firms that haven’t met the requirements, and are facing further delays due to coronavirus, we will consider on a case-by-case basis the appropriate further measures.
In doing so, we will in particular consider:
- firms’ security around authentication to access their online banking and when making payments
- their controls and processes to reduce fraud
- whether that impact is likely to be exacerbated given the current circumstances
We will continue to monitor the situation and are keeping our decisions under review.
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