How Payments Evolve - Notes From Croatia
Even when travelling we notice payments everywhere
Disclaimer: views expressed here are my own and do not represent any other organisation
Recently I took a short trip to Croatia.
Upon leaving the airport in Split, I had to make a decision. Do I check if Uber is available, or go straight to the taxi rank and hail a taxi?
This time, I decided to go to the taxi rank at the airport. I asked the taxi waiting if I could pay with card, "cash only" the driver said.
I checked if this was definitely the case, "yes" he confirmed. So I headed back closer to the airport terminal, to connect to the Wifi and then call a taxi via Uber.
But the driver came after me and said "Show me your card?". I was confused. I showed him my payment card within the Apple wallet on my iPhone. "OK that's fine" and then he walked with me back to the taxi.
SoftPOS in Action
Soon, it made sense. Before I got into the taxi, he showed me an app on his phone - it was a SoftPOS, Tap to Phone app. He could accept card payments, …