What is the point of Semble?

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#1338323 7-Jul-2015 09:53

Geektastic: Can anyone explain why it is better than just using the card itself?

You probably already have your phone in your hand, or more immediately available than your wallet, and it's fewer individual movements (no need to take card out of wallet etc). Also it's very quick, feels like the future, and means you get going quicker. I especially like it when paying for petrol because there's no product to scan, just walk into store, say how much you want, wave phone at terminal then walk out again.

The obvious downside is if you don't know if the terminal will support paywave you end up with your phone and your wallet in your hands so there's more to juggle.

reven

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#1338329 7-Jul-2015 10:07

you will hopefully soon be able to use a smartwatch to pay. that will be awesome, no need to get wallet/phone out of pocket.

dylanp

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#1338330 7-Jul-2015 10:10

reven: you will hopefully soon be able to use a smartwatch to pay. that will be awesome, no need to get wallet/phone out of pocket.

I was tempted to put a paytag sticker under my watch. :)

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#1338339 7-Jul-2015 10:30

reven: you will hopefully soon be able to use a smartwatch to pay. that will be awesome, no need to get wallet/phone out of pocket.

I know. The RSI which I suffer from doing that just has to be seen to be believed.

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#1338340 7-Jul-2015 10:33

VodafoneDylan:
Geektastic: Can anyone explain why it is better than just using the card itself?

You probably already have your phone in your hand, or more immediately available than your wallet, and it's fewer individual movements (no need to take card out of wallet etc). Also it's very quick, feels like the future, and means you get going quicker. I especially like it when paying for petrol because there's no product to scan, just walk into store, say how much you want, wave phone at terminal then walk out again.

The obvious downside is if you don't know if the terminal will support paywave you end up with your phone and your wallet in your hands so there's more to juggle.

Hmm. Since my phone is likely to be in my pocket next to my wallet - or, in your petrol example, still in the car where I left it - I'm not sure that this is likely to change my life much! ;-) It's also hard to imagine a scenario (impending alien invasion, possibly?) where saving perhaps 5 seconds when paying for petrol etc is likely to be hugely important.

muppet

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#1338344 7-Jul-2015 10:40

Because it..... wait for it..... wait for it..... re..sembles a physical card!

Resembles!

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Geektastic

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#1338345 7-Jul-2015 10:41

freitasm:

One less thing to carry
You can protect the phone with a PIN or password
You can turn NFC off and if the phone has a PIN then no one case use it unlike a card that's always active

Not sure any of those are likely to make me use it until I have no option.

I'll still be carrying my wallet anyway (drivers licence, Firearms licence, cash,etc)
The card also has a PIN
Well, to some extent although if that protected phones from being used when stolen, no one would ever steal phones...also means a person accessing your phone gets all your data in one handy place...

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#1338346 7-Jul-2015 10:41

Geektastic:
reven: you will hopefully soon be able to use a smartwatch to pay. that will be awesome, no need to get wallet/phone out of pocket.

I know. The RSI which I suffer from doing that just has to be seen to be believed.

You joke, but I often struggle to pull the right card out of my wallet. I have 10-12 cards in there, so it's a hassle pulling out the right one when they are all packed in tightly.

I'm an Apple user though so Semble means nothing to me.

I imagine contactless payments will be the norm in 2-3 years.

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#1338348 7-Jul-2015 10:42

muppet: Because it..... wait for it..... wait for it..... re..sembles a physical card!

Resembles!

Thanks, thanks, I'm also available for radio ads.

Hey now - they probably paid branding consultants tens of thousands for that bit of ideation...!

freitasm

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#1338351 7-Jul-2015 10:43

Geektastic:
freitasm:

One less thing to carry
You can protect the phone with a PIN or password
You can turn NFC off and if the phone has a PIN then no one case use it unlike a card that's always active

Not sure any of those are likely to make me use it until I have no option.

I'll still be carrying my wallet anyway (drivers licence, Firearms licence, cash,etc)
The card also has a PIN
Well, to some extent although if that protected phones from being used when stolen, no one would ever steal phones...also means a person accessing your phone gets all your data in one handy place...

The card only requires a pin on transactions over $80. Below that and it's tap and pay all you want.

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#1338356 7-Jul-2015 10:50

freitasm:
Geektastic:
freitasm:

One less thing to carry
You can protect the phone with a PIN or password
You can turn NFC off and if the phone has a PIN then no one case use it unlike a card that's always active

Not sure any of those are likely to make me use it until I have no option.

I'll still be carrying my wallet anyway (drivers licence, Firearms licence, cash,etc)
The card also has a PIN
Well, to some extent although if that protected phones from being used when stolen, no one would ever steal phones...also means a person accessing your phone gets all your data in one handy place...

The card only requires a pin on transactions over $80. Below that and it's tap and pay all you want.

Freitasm has identified the biggest problem I see with Semble. It is NOT one less thing to carry, I still need to carry the physical card as Semble only provides the contactless payment function of my credit card.

Until paywave is universally accepted or at least universally accepted within NZ I still need to carry the physical card so there is no benefit to me in having Semble.

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graemeh

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#1338357 7-Jul-2015 10:51

VodafoneDylan:
reven: you will hopefully soon be able to use a smartwatch to pay. that will be awesome, no need to get wallet/phone out of pocket.

I was tempted to put a paytag sticker under my watch. :)

I tried putting a paytag sticker on my NFC phone, it was not a good outcome as the phone tried to talk to the sticker :(

kiwitrc

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#1338359 7-Jul-2015 10:55

My wallet lives in my car centre console usually, and occasionally in my jacket pocket which can be hanging over my chair at work or in the wardrobe at home. I find I am far more likely to go out without my wallet than my phone, so Semble has been very useful on more than one occasion.

However I agree, it would be far more useful if it had EFTPOS functionality than just credit card.

wasabi2k

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#1338367 7-Jul-2015 11:08

Had a similar experience with the ASB PayTag.

I always carry my phone, which has my AT HOP and Drivers License in the case.

So if I forget my bank cards I still have my PayTag - which is great for coffees, sushis etc where I go regularly and I know they have PayWave.

However I can't go anywhere new without having my regular credit card/eftpos cards as backup as they probably won't have PayWave - and that is in central Auckland.

So yes - definitely chicken and egg.

N.B. ASB's app now lets you disable any of your credit/debit cards so that's pretty cool too.

dylanp

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#1338368 7-Jul-2015 11:09

graemeh: I tried putting a paytag sticker on my NFC phone, it was not a good outcome as the phone tried to talk to the sticker :(

Yeah, personally I'm not a big fan of the stickers, very much prefer Semble.

Although... there is some potential for fun... For example if you wear a hat you could hide a sticker in the brim and pay by ceremoniously tipping your hat to the payment terminal.

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