Why do American restaurants take your credit card away?

Posted by Rowdy_Roddy_2022@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 27 comments

This is an odd one to me, particularly when tipping. They take your card away to get the details, then bring you a receipt to add your tip and write out the total with a pen and paper, which you then trust them entirely not to edit, and process your payment. In Europe you either pay at the table or when leaving at a till, and you can add a tip yourself on the terminal. Your credit card is in sight at all times. Why is America so far behind in terms of this, and how is it not a massive risk for skimming and/or fraud? NB: This is happening in really good, highly rated restaurants, not dodgy ones.

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27 Comments

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erunaheru@reddit

Americans like it that way. One of our major mid-tier restaurant conglomerates has been trying to get people to pay at the table for years and they won't do it. I've seen multiple times the waitress had to take their card and use the mobile device for them. Other restaurants started doing it during the pandemic and switched back afterwards because people hated it.

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boldjoy0050@reddit

It’s because it’s poorly implemented. If the waiter would bring the machine to the table, people would be more comfortable with it. A local restaurant in my area drops off one of those wireless Clover terminals at the table. You put in the card, select tip amount on the screen, remove your card, then walk out.

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Moist_BaIIs@reddit

Olive Garden? I don't know it feels kind of tacky to have that tablet payment acceptor at the table.

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erunaheru@reddit

And Chili's and a few others. I looked it up and I was wrong about them being owned by the same group, seems like it's just a thing that all the mid restaurants decided to do on their own.

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trey74@reddit

Why is Europe so backwards that they don't understand full service restaurants? LOL. Protections are REALLY strong here for CC transactions, and while sometimes fraud DOES happen, it's rare.

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boldjoy0050@reddit

I think it’s annoying having to ask the server for the bill, they bring the bill, then you have to wait for them to collect your credit card, then wait for them to bring it back. Also, many times my card ends up getting returned all greasy or wet from the server’s hands. It just feels like a dated system compared to the rest of the world. My local Chinese noodle shop here in Dallas just drops off a portable Clover terminal at your table and you insert your card, select tip amount, and leave.

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jephph_@reddit

We don’t feel the same way about it as you. If you really want this question answered then you have to do a thought experiment and pretend it’s no big deal to give a card to a server. So do that and then you’ll understand

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Sapphire24@reddit

In addition to what others have already mentioned about fraud protection, I’d also wager that a lot of Americans, especially older ones, probably perceive the use of a mobile card reader as “cheapening” the dining experience when you’re at a nicer restaurant. There’s something a little more elegant about just handing them your card and having the transaction happen out of sight; it’s king of awkward to input your card and do the tip and everything with the waiter standing right there. It makes it more like a fast casual experience.

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Old_Army90@reddit

> Why is America so far behind in terms of this It’s like there’s a law in this sub that every reasonable question has to conclude with a massive yet unfounded put down

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MarcableFluke@reddit

I've been going to restaurants for 20+ years and have never had my credit card skimmed/stolen by a waiter. Maybe the fact that you can't trust your servers in YourCountry^tm is the real problem?

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TehWildMan_@reddit

Restaurants typically don't have separate card readers for each table, a that would be very expensive. Skimming or photocopying of cards isn't an overly common issue, and is pretty easy to catch if it's a habit.

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Old_Army90@reddit

> Restaurants typically don't have separate card readers for each table And when they do, fuck those things. In my experience they hardly ever work and we have to get the server’s help anyway.

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Boring-Suburban-Dad@reddit

They don’t have separate card readers, they bring it to the table.

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TehWildMan_@reddit

Portable readers aren't really common in the payments industry here. Not really any reason to make the investment.

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Boring-Suburban-Dad@reddit

I know. I was just explaining to you that they don’t have 37 card readers, just a couple they can bring to tables.

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Im_Not_Nick_Fisher@reddit

I remember when I went to Vegas one year I forgot to put a travel notice on my credit card. I got to my hotel and one of the first things that I saw was a pretzel stand. I buy a pretzel and a drink and paid with my credit card. I’m about to walk away and went to grab a napkin. Before I was able to get the napkin my phone was ringing. I answered and it was someone from my credit card company. They noticed the charge was out of my normal area and called me straight away.

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7evenCircles@reddit

Why do Europeans immediately conclude that everything we do differently is something we're behind on?

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Accomplished-Park480@reddit

I know what you mean. Every time I hand over my card, I break into a cold sweat and wonder what has happened. According to my credit cards statements, I own several pieces of real estate and have been slowly paying them off without benefit of ownership. /s

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BB-56_Washington@reddit

It's probably because we don't have much of an issue with servers stealing our credit card information.

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TheMockingBrd@reddit

Ah, you see, our credit system is protected against fraud in the way that the bank will do everything to get its money back at no cost to the card holder because it’s the banks money, not ours.

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machagogo@reddit

>and how is it not a massive risk for skimming and/or fraud? No, it is not. If dozens of cards that all shopped at XYZ location were all victims of fraud the banks would figure it out before the consumers even noticed. Plus, the US has FAR superior consumer protections for card fraud than Europe. The only time I was ever a victim of fraud was in the Carribean, and the bank figured it out and returned my money before I even noticed.

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Crayshack@reddit

The US has very robust fraud protection laws so the customer is not responsible for other people misusing their card. We also have excellent fraud detection and the credit card companies are going to catch on quickly if a server starts pulling that kind of shit regularly. There is no fraud risk here. Why are European countries so far behind on fraud protection?

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Why do American restaurants take your credit card away?

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27 Comments

erunaheru@reddit

boldjoy0050@reddit

Moist_BaIIs@reddit

erunaheru@reddit

trey74@reddit

boldjoy0050@reddit

jephph_@reddit

Sapphire24@reddit

Old_Army90@reddit

MarcableFluke@reddit

TehWildMan_@reddit

Old_Army90@reddit

Boring-Suburban-Dad@reddit

TehWildMan_@reddit

Boring-Suburban-Dad@reddit

Im_Not_Nick_Fisher@reddit

7evenCircles@reddit

Accomplished-Park480@reddit

BB-56_Washington@reddit

TheMockingBrd@reddit

machagogo@reddit

Crayshack@reddit

GhostOfJamesStrang@reddit

ayebrade69@reddit

Sarollas@reddit

RedShooz10@reddit

OhThrowed@reddit