EftPos - Best thing in New Zealand?!

majiktripp

So,having been here a few months now and got a job/finished the job earned the money etc, I'm finding I bloody love eftpos. Laser cards at home, WTF?! 3 days to remove the funds from your acc. yet here its instantaneous. How come Ireland can't adopt this form of payment? Although it does lead to circumstances where places don't accept eftpos and your without cash trying to think of an alternative...fast. Still would be nice to see it's ability brought to Europe, especially with online banking, makes tracking money (And spending it) a whole lot easier.:pac:

Xavi6

Totally agree. Absolutely fantastic concept and I also can't understand why it isn't used everywhere. No need to really ever carry cash as you can just swipe your card wherever needed.

pclancy

Yep-Really handy! Our local always puts me on a tab and i just get rid of it at the end of the night. Laser used to do my head in not knowing how much i had left. My credit cards linked to it as well so the one card can do everything

Rabies

Same here. Love it.
Only carry the min amount of cash. Enough to get a taxi or train each day to/from work.

The only prob with it is, if you're out drinking it can lead to excessive spending
Its a kinda, screw it... pay later

BraziliaNZ

yes they're not quite as welcoming with eftpos here in oz as they are in NZ, you could buy one drink on eftpos in NZ and it was no big deal. Why they don't have it in Eire I don't know. I asked for a laser card a few years ago and they said I had to meet the bank manager ffs. Even in the UK, I opened an account in 2003, and your normal bank card is a switch card, so you can buy groceries on it etc. Why the hell don't they have that in ireland? I'm displeased to hear they don't have it yet, I thought it would be standard by the time I get home, looking unlikely.

hussey

Yeah efpos is pretty cool, though I still rather use cash in bars! Otherwise I'd be too tempted to buy shots!!

I one thing that really pi$ses me off about teh cards over here, is that they only recently brought out chip and pin!
Everytime (apart from self service efpos machines) the dudes in the store always forget to ask for pin and press press sign ...

But yes Efpos does rock, at first I thought it was the same as laser, but then remembered that you get charged for laser and takes a few days!

Crumble Froo

took me a while to accept eftpos, prefer to see the money being handed over, but found i was more likely to spend small change lying around, just cos it was lying around... now i have an online savers account, and i can only move money around in it online, and i slowly feed my current account with it when i need something. quite handy, but one thing that drives me nuts here, is the lack of ATMs. ARGH! back home, all you have to do is wander into a spar/centra etc, and there's practically a guaranteed one. or at least the nearest lot of shops.
but here, i have to walk nearly a halfhour to get to my nearest one. which is really annoying as the bus will only take cash, and i dont have any ATMs near where i work either.

Rabies

but just look for cash out in you local store

Eftpos is good and bad.

A few weeks ago a couple of us went out on the piss. We each ended up spending over $200 that night on piss. The worst was it was all discounted. Eftpos doesn't seem like real money when you're drinking.

Speaking of which. I'm just back from the James Bond private screening a week ahead of its release in NZ... Mmmmm chocolate martinis .... *drool*

/rubs liver

majiktripp

Crumble Froo wrote: »

which is really annoying as the bus will only take cash, and i dont have any ATMs near where i work either.

Here in lies the only problem I have with eftpos. IT's too handy..you become over reliant on it and when someone doesn't accept it your in no man's land unless you choose to carry cash with you aswell which in some cases I haven't, it can lead to embarassment! A minor gripe though, most places are happy to accpet it, even if its only for a $3 pie!

hussey

Crumble Froo wrote: »

which is really annoying as the bus will only take cash

I think this would be the worst thing in the world, as if it takes 30sec to process a payment and 10 people are paying by efpos .. then that is 5minutes of the bus waiting!!

Xavi6

Do they not just have a bus pass like they do in Perth that does you for both buses and trains? You just swipe your card when you get on and off. Mine tops up automatically through my bank account as well. No need for cash ever.

One Cold Hand

Xavi6 wrote: »

Do they not just have a bus pass like they do in Perth that does you for both buses and trains? You just swipe your card when you get on and off. Mine tops up automatically through my bank account as well. No need for cash ever.

This is New Zealand you're talking about Xavi!
They just about have buses, nevermind fancy pants automated payment systems.

hussey

Xavi6 wrote: »

Do they not just have a bus pass like they do in Perth that does you for both buses and trains? You just swipe your card when you get on and off. Mine tops up automatically through my bank account as well. No need for cash ever.

Not in sydney ... f*cking crap
they spent millions on it paying some company to introduce a smartcard within 5 years and failed miserably
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/transport-minister-bungles-tcard-dates/2008/10/15/1223750129780.html

on a side note, I used to think Sydney was a great transport system, but when i seen perth, the I realised how crap sydney is.

But then compared to Ireland and their 'the bus will come when it comes' attitude, it is still pretty good

Xavi6

Yeah I hve to say, whatever criticisms people have about Perth, they have to transport system pretty much nailed on in terms of making it easy for people. Buses and trains owned by the one company (unlike Ireland :rolleyes:) and a SmartRider system.

Mahatma coat

I always thought Perth could do with a few Trams, and more trains, but thats mainly because I hate Busses, Buses are for Povo's, buy a car or use a Taxi you Povo

Crumble Froo

buses here are known as loser cruisers, alright. was always quite amused by that one .

Mrs OBumble

One Cold Hand wrote: »

This is New Zealand you're talking about Xavi!
They just about have buses, nevermind fancy pants automated payment systems.

Christchurch has had smart payment cards for ages. So has Porirua. Wellington got 'em earlier this year. The rest of the country is slowly getting there.

You lads should see the funny looks I get when I accidentally say eft-pos instead of laser in Ireland. It's like they think I'm talking a foreign language.

The banks don't advertise this, but if nights on the p*ss are a problem for you, they can set your card up so that it doesn't work over the weekend. I know a few lads who've done this.

Cmol

My only gripe with eftpos is the fact that it cant be used online or over the phone for anything, unlike laser which can be used on some Irish websites etc

majiktripp

Cmol wrote: »

My only gripe with eftpos is the fact that it cant be used online or over the phone for anything, unlike laser which can be used on some Irish websites etc

Westpac (Booo!!Hiss!! Hated working for them) do have the Debit Plus Visa card , essentially Eft-pos card with Visa networks facilities so you can use that online as it draws funds from your cheque account. Handy replacement for a credit card and can be used online too..

Xavi6

Cmol wrote: »

My only gripe with eftpos is the fact that it cant be used online or over the phone for anything, unlike laser which can be used on some Irish websites etc

Just get a Visa Debit card.

pclancy

Yeah the Snapper card for the busses in Wellington is quite handy because you just stick money on to it and use it for not only busses but lots of cafes and restaurants in town accept it as payment too!

Cmol

majiktripp wrote: »

Westpac (Booo!!Hiss!! Hated working for them) do have the Debit Plus Visa card , essentially Eft-pos card with Visa networks facilities so you can use that online as it draws funds from your cheque account. Handy replacement for a credit card and can be used online too..

Xavi6 wrote: »

Just get a Visa Debit card.

I will when I go home