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Do you still carry cash and/or physical cards when you go out, or only your iPhone?

  • iPhone only

    Votes: 83 23.4%
  • Carry cash and/or physical cards

    Votes: 271 76.6%

  • Total voters
    354
  • This poll will close: .
Gosh, I could never put all my eggs in one basket (my iPhone).

I use Apple Pay when I can, but still carry physical cards. (What if my phone dies, or gets lost or stolen?) It's also nice to be able to disconnect and leave my phone behind sometimes.

I also carry some cash as well since it doesn't take up much more space. Has no one ever run into an instance where a merchant's payment network is down? It has happened to me several times in the past few years (at a major retailer, car wash, and at a restaurant). Cash saved the day while nearly everyone else abandoned those places.



Both actually work pretty much the same. Cards do transaction-specific, one-time codes as well. The NFC terminal powers the chip in the card to generate the code.

Apple Pay just takes this one step further by using a virtual card number, so that your actual card number isn't stored on your phone. This is mainly for security, and so that you can easily disable your virtual card in case your device gets lost or stolen. (Otherwise, if it used your actual number, you'd have to disable your actual card and wait for a new one.) Apple Pay doesn't generate a new card number per transaction. You're probably thinking of the one-time code that's used for the transaction, which cards do too. If you look at your receipts, payments using Apple Pay should have the same virtual / Apple Pay number that's shown in your Wallet. Also, when you use Apple Pay via NFC, Apple is not involved at all during the transaction. (Using Apple Pay on the web and in apps is a different story though.)

Here's a couple links from Visa and Amex that go into a little more detail about how contactless payments work with cards.
Thanks! This is great info. Appreciate the reply.
 
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I carry mostly cards and use Apple
Pay where I can. I have a $20 bill in my wallet that is about 9 years old. I can’t remember the last time I needed cash. Cards are still a must here in the US, but in Europe, tap-to-pay is everywhere.

I was in London a few years ago and used Apple Pay for literally everything. I only had to use a card once at a gelato shop because the tap-to-pay was broken.
 
Fair enough. From my perspective, it feels irresponsible to allow my phone battery to die.

I don't ski, so there's that, but my phone is such an important tool, for both work and my personal life, that I have literally never allowed it to die (that's not hyperbole). I charge it each night, and every time I get in my car – even with heavy use, the battery has never gone below about 10-15%.

I recently got a cellular Apple Watch, so that's another layer of coverage which allows me access to my cards.

My physical wallet is in my car. In the unlikely event that my phone and watch both die or are stolen, and I have my car, I can access my cards there. Further, even if my car is stolen along with my phone and watch, I can always call my wife or other family member to assist (I have a few key phone numbers memorized).

So, I take your point about being dependent on a phone, but I have a different approach which works for me.

I think lifestyle/environment is a major factor here. For example, I rarely use a car, and get around by subways/trains. Not many places to leave your wallet on the subway…

Also gosh the cold…kills your phone battery…and makes the touchscreen unusable…even when you step outside with a full charge…

But ya, I would feel pretty confident heading into a store, restaurant, theatre, etc. with just my phone, if I knew my wallet was in the parking lot, just a few dozen feet away, in the event of an emergency.
 
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I carry credit, debit and cash. But, use Apple Pay on my watch most of the time. Apple Pay has a $250 limit, sometimes my purchase are larger than that. I hate cash, hopefully it goes away.
Apple Pay doesn't have a limit, that will be the retailer or your bank imposing that limit, I've spent over £1000 on Apple Pay.
 
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iPhone/Apple Watch only on me as I'm out and about.

I keep my card wallet out of sight in my car. So it's usually near me if I "must" have a card for something and so that my ID is also nearby if needed. I do use WalMart pay when I infrequently go there...at least I don't need to physically have my card with me. I used to keep a $20 bill in my card wallet, but stopped doing that a while ago. It's very infrequent that I need cash for anything. I do keep a few quarters in my car for Aldi trips. I also keep pictures of all of my physical cards in the oneSafe app on my phone if I need a full card number for online shopping or need to verify a CVV number or something.
 
I haven’t carried my wallet for a few years now.
The only time I get cash out is to put in birthday or Christmas cards for the younglings.
Otherwise it’s all contactless via my iPhone or my Apple Watch.
So much easier and safer.

Easy to keep track of what I spend and what’s in my accounts too thanks to Wallet app.
 
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Here in Brazil I use apple watch or iphone daily without carrying the wallet.

However if you try buying very expensive things, like when I bought a roland top of the line edrums kit, I had to bring the physical card, cause there was probably a certain limit on expendure throu apple pay/nfc.

For reference it only triggered when trying to buy 6,5k usd.
 
I travel all over Europe. Don't think I've used cash for at least 2-3 years. I usually carry 50€ just in case but haven't needed it. Apple pay / contactless seems to work fine everywhere.

Outside of Europe things are different. Central Asia I had to have cash. Cards barely work anywhere outside of major cities. Hell one of my cards doesn't even work in the city.

Surprisingly Iceland was a mess. They have some problems with cards there. Most of the gas stations seem to have ancient pumps and don't take chip and pin cards. I can't swipe any of my cards as they won't process. Cash it is again.
 
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iPhone and apple wallet with drivers license, required Id card/forb for work and one credit card just in case. Otherwise my ridge wallet lives in my truck.
 
cash is king! not for large purchases, but for groceries, meals, smaller items. cash keeps impulse buying to a minimum.
Funny. I hear this a lot. And yes there is research about spending more with cards and I don’t doubt that. But, what I don’t buy is when folks say (you didn’t say this) cash is harder to physically part with emotionally. Now me, If I have a 20 in my pocket… it’s an endangered species. I’ll buy gum, a drink or just about anything to get that out of my wallet. Nothing shows up on my budget when I look electronically. It’s like invisible money. Never existed. Mentally, of course.

But I know, when I swipe that card, I will need to atone for that at the end/beginning of the month for the budget… and while that isn’t impossible, it is a thought when considering an impulse buy.

So… to me, cash IS my impulse buy. But I suppose, you can’t go buy a snowblower because one is on sale if you’re using cash? YMMV
 
I mostly go out with just my iPhone and house keys…
If I do go away from home for a couple days I take the wallet as well.

Just the coffee loyalty cards that still need stamping.

Funny. I hear this a lot. And yes there is research about spending more with cards and I don’t doubt that. But, what I don’t buy is when folks say (you didn’t say this) cash is harder to physically part with emotionally. Now me, If I have a 20 in my pocket… it’s an endangered species. I’ll buy gum, a drink or just about anything to get that out of my wallet. Nothing shows up on my budget when I look electronically. It’s like invisible money. Never existed. Mentally, of course.
I agree.
Cash just evaporates without a trace when I have some — a £10 is just peanuts these days.
 
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I've been experimenting with the all-phone lifestyle and it's workable almost all the time. I have a slim wallet with 2 cards in it and a couple of 20s that lives in a zipped jacket pocket as a backup because I'm not quite brave enough to go completely without a net.

And I do love the at-table ordering and pay stations, partially for convenience and partially because I live with a bit of a picky eater. When I push the "no onions" button on the terminal, I know that it is going to go to the kitchen with "no onions" on the order ticket. :)
 
When you folks go out to eat, shop, or whatever: Do you still carry cash and/or physical cards? Or do you rely entirely on your iPhone (and Apple Pay) for making payments?
This is a relevant question! I had to go on a work trip that required 400 miles of round trip driving yesterday, and was 50 miles into my trip when I realized that I had left my wallet at home.

At first I was a bit panicky, but I was able to do everything with my phone at stores and restaurants that I could have with a physical card. I obviously already knew this, but putting it into practice with no plastic cards to back me up was an eye-opener. I am going to narrow my wallet down to my DL, health insurance cards, and one plastic credit card as a backup.
 
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I'm an old guy.

I have a wallet, usually not much in it (we're talking less than $30, sometimes less than $10).
At markets and stores I'll generally use the self-service checkouts and pay cash.

I have a total of one credit card. One.

Since I don't own a smartphone, I have no means of "electronic payment" (Apple Pay or anything else). I can confidently state that I'll never have such things.

I still get paper bills and write paper checks to pay them.

I don't see much changing between "now" and... whatever's "down the line".
 
When you folks go out to eat, shop, or whatever: Do you still carry cash and/or physical cards? Or do you rely entirely on your iPhone (and Apple Pay) for making payments?
I tap to pay with AppleCard on my AppleWatch EVERYWHERE. I am over $5,000 lifetime on cashback. I also use the 3.9% Apple Savings, I carry my debt each month to the last day, earning the 3.9 on my debt even. I haven't paid an interest fee in my adult life. I carry my physical AppleCard in case a vendor doesn't take tap-to-pay. I carry a neatly folded $100 bill in the back of my wallet for the off emergency or places that don't take cash.
 
I go to restaurants to get away from crap like this. If they insisted on leaving one at my table or making me use it instead of just talking to my waiter, I'd probably suffer through it once and then never come back to that restaurant.
I've never seen a place where you HAVE to use it. There may be some, but it certainly isn't the norm. They're there for your convenience. Order appetizers, drinks, refills, etc without waiting for the server. And pay without waiting for the check. If you don't want to use it, push it away and ignore it.

If out of sight, out if mind isn't out of mind enough, I very much doubt a server would be unwilling to take it away. They'd probably think it a little melodramatic, because it is, but they'll say "Sure." and do it.

Considering what servers face from some customers on a daily basis, removing the Kiosk from your table isn't going to be a big deal.
 
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