# Random “Why don’t we have this in the US” thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2023, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294 "2023-07-20T09:15:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/121 "2023-07-23T21:18:39Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I was surprised it worked, but the cashier said she thought the tap limit (before having to insert the card and enter a PIN) was $250. It went up during Covid, at least for me. At the beginning of 2020, the limit was $100 for tap. Part way through Covid-time, it went past $100. Combination of inflation and more people using the tap feature, I guess. I don’t know what the limit is now. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/122 "2023-07-23T21:22:46Z")
The tap limit depends on both the card issuer and the merchant. I would guess that Ontario liquor stores probably have one of the highest limits. And you’re right, the limits did go up considerably during COVID. I hope they don’t come down again but so far they haven’t. It’s been documented that point-of-sale keypads are notoriously germ-laden, even in non-plague times. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/123 "2023-07-23T21:23:27Z")
The idea of a dollar limit on tap transactions is utterly foreign to this USAian. If there is one I’ve never encountered it. Although there are still plenty of insert-only terminals out there in our benighted and primitive land. There may be a correlation between those non-tap terminals and stores where big ticket orders are common. So I may have missed the idea that taps are for low-cost sales only. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/124 "2023-07-23T21:26:31Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The idea of a dollar limit on tap transactions is utterly foreign to this USAian. If there is one I’ve never encountered it. When the banks introduced it here, they used the tap limit as a safety point. If someone found your wallet, they couldn’t get more than X dollars in tap purchases, and the banks would reimburse for that. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/125 "2023-07-23T21:27:57Z")
How do people outside the US handle taxes on international online sales? ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/126 "2023-07-23T21:28:18Z")
I never carry nickels, dimes, quarters, or one dollar bills and therefore I am never tempted to put them in the vending machines at work. I probably save several hundred dollars a year because of this. I do carry half dollar and one dollar coins, two dollar bills, and larger denominations. I only use my debit card when I deposit cash at my bank because they insist that I do so. The only other use for my debit card is as an ice scraper in the winter time. I haven’t used my credit card in the last couple of months or so. I may be an outlier. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/127 "2023-07-23T21:31:38Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > How do people outside the US handle taxes on international online sales? The seller has to put net price on the customs tag that gets attached. Canada Post or the courier then has to collect federal duty, federal GST, and provincial sales tax when they deliver it. The only jurisdiction that doesn’t have a provincial sales tax is Alberta. As Wolfpup says, that’s why having a net price is important. Not all foreign sellers remember to do this. I’ve got books and a few other things from the US or the UK that don’t have a customs tag. There seems to be a common feeling out there that books don’t pay duty; can’t expect every shipper out there outside of Canada to know all the details. Other stuff like clothes, I usually have to pay the duty and taxes. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/128 "2023-07-23T21:33:40Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > My pet peeve is that no one here (Canada or US) packages things like mustard or mayonnaise in toothpaste type tubes. Ever so much more convenient. We do have squeeze bottles, however. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/129 "2023-07-23T21:39:30Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > I may be an outlier. You are. While traveling for work I carry ~$20 worth of $1s & $5s in a money clip for cash tips. I get through zero to about $8 a day max from that stash while on the road. I don’t carry any small bills when not at work. My phone’s card holster has two $20s and one $100 for emergency cash use. One of those bills gets used maybe once every 6 months. I carry no coins ever. I have a debit card that lives in a desk drawer at home. It’s used solely to occasionally replenish my cash from the bank’s ATM. “Occasionally” as in [maybe 3x/year]. 100% of my retail purchases are credit card. Including my rare use of vending machines. On the doubly-rare occasion somebody won’t take credit, they either get to break my emergency $20 or I do without. More often the latter. I too may be an outlier, but the all-credit-all-the-time mode is probably the larger group, and certainly the group with more growth in headcount. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/130 "2023-07-23T21:48:44Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > The idea of a dollar limit on tap transactions is utterly foreign to this USAian. If there is one I’ve never encountered it. > > When the banks introduced it here, they used the tap limit as a safety point. If someone found your wallet, they couldn’t get more than X dollars in tap purchases, and the banks would reimburse for that. Right, and, presumably, someone suddenly going around making a lot of high-value tap purchases all on the same day would likely set off “unusual behaviour” alarms. Even without those alarms, some (maybe all) credit card issuers limit the number of consecutive tap purchases before PIN verification is required. In any case, the tap feature is definitely a security risk for the card issuer because there’s no verification whatsoever – possession of the card is all it takes. I’m actually surprised that the stuck-up ultra-conservative Canadian bank oligopoly allows it at all, let alone with generous transaction limits instead of the $2 they figure a Timmy’s coffee and donut would cost. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/131 "2023-07-23T21:49:02Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I have a debit card that lives in a desk drawer at home. My debit card is separate from my credit card. The debit card is linked to my bank account, only. The credit card is linked to Visa, only. I carry both all the time. Both are useable interchangeably at the tap point. The grocery store does ask which I’m using, because you can’t get cash-with-purchase with the credit card (store policy). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/132 "2023-07-23T21:49:11Z")
Typically, when I’m paying with a credit card, the instructions tell me to “Swipe, Insert, or Tap”; and I never know how to decide between these options. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/133 "2023-07-23T21:53:01Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > the stuck-up ultra-conservative Canadian bank oligopoly Side-note: the “stuck-up ultra-conservative Canadian bank oligopoly” has the feature of being safe. Only two banks have gone under since the Great Depression, and that triggered an inquiry chaired by a Supreme Court judge. Only two in close to a century is a pretty good track record, compared to the S&Ls and Silicon Valley Bank down south. The banks also came through the mortgage crisis in the States a lot better than the US banks did, because of their cautious approach to derivatives and other fancy investment vehicles. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/134 "2023-07-23T21:55:14Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I have a debit card that lives in a desk drawer at home. Mine is in my wallet with my other credit cards, but it probably belongs in a desk drawer just like yours. Just about the only thing I can remember using it for in recent years is withdrawing cash from the ATM, and the only purpose of the cash – which I otherwise never use – is to pay the kid who mows my lawn. I suppose the reason I carry it is that otherwise I’d show up at the bank ATM and realize I didn’t have it – a distinct possibility, if you recall the sieve-like nature of my so-called memory. 😆 ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/135 "2023-07-23T22:01:21Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > the stuck-up ultra-conservative Canadian bank oligopoly > > Side-note: the “stuck-up ultra-conservative Canadian bank oligopoly” has the feature of being safe. Only two banks have gone under since the Great Depression, and that triggered an inquiry chaired by a Supreme Court judge. Only two in close to a century is a pretty good track record, compared to the S&Ls and Silicon Valley Bank down south. > > The banks also came through the mortgage crisis in the States a lot better than the US banks did, because of their cautious approach to derivatives and other fancy investment vehicles. Absolutely!! I completely agree, and in fact I’m sure I’ve posted before about the amazing strength and stability of the Canadian banking system. It’s just that sometimes this highly regulated oligopoly pisses me off, and that was true even when one of them was bestowing vast sums of money on me when they hired me as a consultant. But it’s far preferable to the relatively uncontrolled treachery of US banks that directly let to the mortgage crisis. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/136 "2023-07-23T22:13:44Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Oh yeah that’s right, now I remember. I lived in Germany for a few years and always had a ridiculous amount of coins in my pocket. No thanks. When on deployment I often had two pockets with coins – one with local money for spending in town, and one with US money to use at the Exchange. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/137 "2023-07-23T22:26:09Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > How do people outside the US handle taxes on international online sales? If you mean people as buyers, there’s nothing to handle. That’s why the American system is so utterly alien. This past couple days I’ve made purchases from online shops in four different countries besides my own. Not for a second have I had to “handle”, or think, about the taxes. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/138 "2023-07-23T22:45:32Z")
How the sellers handle it is my question. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/139 "2023-07-23T22:56:02Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Typically, when I’m paying with a credit card, the instructions tell me to “Swipe, Insert, or Tap”; and I never know how to decide between these options. At least in the USA … Tap is the most secure from the end-users’ POV. It’s essentially impossible for your card details to be leaked on a tap. It also takes the least time and physical dexterity. It can also be done with your phone wallet app instead of the physical card. The only downside I’ve found with tap is you have to figure out where the sensor is on the terminal Some are obvious, others are not. Also some demand a short tap and will double-clutch and screw up the transaction if you tap and hold, whereas others require you to tap and hold a couple seconds before it registers. Insert is next most safe. But is theoretically skimmable. Although not nearly as easily as is the trivial-to-skim swipe. Swipe is generally disabled for any card that is chipped = insertable or RFID = tappable. The “Swipe, or…” prompt is a leftover from the days when lots of cards were swipe-only. Some few still are, but not for much longer. If your card is insertable and you try to swipe the terminal will probably refuse that swipe and ask you to insert instead. I had a problem with that about 6 months ago when the insert-chip of my card died. It would only work as swipe, and only in the fairly few terminals that are not yet insert-capable. I pretty well switched to tap-by-phone until my new card arrived. The terminals I hate the most, which seem to be all but universal in airport vendors have a UI that pops up saying “Swipe or insert” then about 2 seconds later, just as I’m starting my card into the slot, the UI changes to “swipe, insert, or tap” and the tap icon appears. I reflexively back out my card and it says “card read error, start over.” Gah!!! Then the cashier has to reset something and the clueless old fart gets to try again. Actually it’s just that I’m faster than the damn computers I spend all day waiting for. Can’t anybody do a software mod correctly??!?!?!?!? > [@wolfpup](#): > > and the only purpose of the cash – which I otherwise never use – is to pay the kid who mows my lawn. I suppose the reason I carry it is that otherwise I’d show up at the bank ATM and realize I didn’t have it – a distinct possibility, if you recall the sieve-like nature of my so-called memory. 😆 You might find if you asked the kid he’d far prefer you to use Paypal, Venmo, Zelle, or whatever corresponding apps are popular in Canada than that stinky weird paper stuff you fogeys call “cash”. I have the same problem at the ATM with my card left at home; which is why I make getting cash a deliberate stop on a deliberate trip, not an “oh yeah, I’ll just stop by and … oh, shit, no I won’t.” Although last time I did that I found could use my phone wallet to provide my ATM card to the machine. And once when I went into the branch the nice teller babe scanned my driver’s license (or credit card from that bank, I forget which) and played human ATM from her drawer debited to my checking account. Felt weird to be in a branch, but there I was. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294/140 "2023-07-23T23:02:21Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The only downside I’ve found with tap is you have to figure out where the sensor is on the terminal It’s infuriating that they can’t standardize this. Sometimes the location is on the upper bezel, maybe labeled or not. Sometimes under the screen, again maybe with a label and maybe not. Sometimes on the rear edge of the unit. Or maybe there is a screen icon indicating that it supports tap-to-pay, but the sensor isn’t that location. Sometimes it’s under the keyboard. And sometimes the unit just doesn’t support it, even if some of the surrounding signage says otherwise. I look like an idiot rubbing my card all over the reader, only to have it still fail. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-why-don-t-we-have-this-in-the-us-thread/987294.md?page=8)