I Would Do Anything To Pay, But I Still Don’t Tap That

With apologies to Meat Loaf, I don’t tap that.

I don’t tap to pay. It scares me. OMG, I’m getting old, aren’t I?

Seriously, I’ve been writing about tech for more than 20 years. I had Twitter in the early stages, I had MP3 players before the iPod existed, and have prided myself on being an early adopter for decades.

But Tap? Tap scares me. I don’t tap that thing. Sure, I get it’s convenient and easy and secure, but still .. I don’t tap that.

I’d tap dance

I’d tap a keg

If I got in an octagon, I’d tap out

But I have a hard time tapping to pay.

I think it’s because it would become second nature. Nobody looks at the total or the register when they tap to pay, they just wave their magic wand and “POOF” paid. Yes, it saves time and it’s easy and it’s secure, but it’s almost too easy for my liking.

At a recent dinner hosted by Interac for the launch of Fraud Prevention Month (it’s March, btw), when I admitted I don’t tap that, everyone at the table looked at me as if I had an old school credit card machine for a head. CLUNK, CLUNK.

So Mike’s Bloggity, Mr Fabulous, and the rest of the guests proceeded to school me as to the brilliance of tap and the security of Interac.

I already trusted Interac. I will use that little card all day long instead of carrying cash with me. My wife and I use email money transfers to pay for massages and to give each other money. But tapping feels like a step too far.

Still, the numbers were on their side.

Fraud on Interac is continually decreasing. Losses due to skimming dropped for the sixth straight year, to a new record low of just $11.8M. When you compare that to purchases totalling more than $347B, fraud counts for less than 0.004%.

Due to chip technology, Interac Flash enabled cards have increased protection against skimming, counterfeiting, and transaction replay types of fraud, including electronic pickpocketing. That debunks the subway pickpocket picture that went viral last month.

And that’s where the stats on tap to pay come in. Contactless purchases are limited to under $100, and once you’ve tapped up to $200, you need to put your PIN in to confirm. So to pay for gas and coffee and assorted sundries, it’s not only simple and easy – but it’s secure.

Okay, so maybe I will tap that, but these things take time, people. I just fired up Snapchat last week, and only recently started using emoji when I text.

So I’ll come around, eventually. Probably right around the time Interac develops a secure telepathic way for people to pay. Cause you know they will.