Comment by the__alchemist
2 days ago
Table-service restaurants always take your card (Not sure if they support chip and/or contactless), but most other services support chip and contactless. (2025, NC). This wasn't true in my experience until a few years ago. We lag Europe by 5+ years on payment techs. E.g. chip, contactless. There's a coffee shop holdout near me that was magstrip only until a few weeks ago.
This was true five years ago, not true now.
When I eat out in NYC now they almost always bring the machine to your table so you can use contactless and you select the tip amount on the screen.
The other week I went to a place that asked for my card and brought out the receipt for me to sign and I had to manually calculate the tip and was struck by how long it's been since I had to do that.
Interesting! That was my experience in Europe even 10 years ago, but they haven't caught up in NC, Vegas, and the other US cities I've been to lately. Interesting hearing the NYC takes in this thread! Both cash, and modern chip/tap readers at restaurants, neither of which I see.
I heard this mess has to due to banks and CC companies (Visa etc) fighting over who implements the changes, while the system in Europe (and Asia, and South America...) doesn't have that division, so they get the tech mainstream fast.