Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Credit Card Scanners

One thing that I didn't notice that was missing in Thailand but became aware of when I came back to the U.S. was the self-scan machines for credit cards at the check out. They don't have them in Thailand.

The first few times that I bought something with the credit card when I returned, I handed the credit card to the clerk. The clerk in turn asked me to swipe it on the reader. I kind of felt like a dunce for not remembering it.

Credit cards are much more accepted here than in Thailand. You can certainly use credit cards there in larger establishments, but there are a lot of places where only cash is accepted. Even where credit cards are accepted, they are as widely used as they are here.

I'm not sure that Thais would like scanning their cards. It might be considered rude to make your swipe your own card when the cashier is standing right there. And judging from my experience, cashiers are never in a hurry to get you on your way, and the only time speed matters to my fellow shoppers is when they are trying line jump at the counter in front of me.

No comments: