Paying For Stuff in a Minimal way

leave a spare card in your car ?

I use a SECRID wallet. Fab item and very compact. 

Mostly however I just use my phone. 

Biggest pocket saving was recently getting a NUKI smart door lock. Means no more keys to carry. 

Though I do always now carry a portable battery pack as the thought of a flat phone battery is unimaginable. 

Maybe an emergency 50 note secreted in the slim case?

Maybe if you’re in London. Such things appear to be regarded with utmost suspicion wherever I’ve seen one presented in the NW. and I can imagine folks at the Spar being unimpressed having to give change for a packet of Eccles cakes and a can of Irn Bru.

Maybe £10 - £20?

Edit.
To your query.
I take phone, £10 note, £20 note, a few £1 coins. Pockets are good for all of these. I wouldn’t put a card and my emergency cash in the same pocket as my phone. Lose one, likely lose all.

Oh, and about £20 in various coinage in the car. Some of those Peak District parking meters are HUNGRY.

Sometimes I take a small trifold wallet, ‘Dun’ perhaps? Wouldn’t recommend as though it is small and encourages minimal carry it is a bit thick when folded.

Edit edit. Despite carrying these things I inevitably use ApplePay.

I still carry a card as Google Pay appears to have a £100 limit in a lot of places.

phone on me, card in a small wallet, kept [somewhere], if I know I'm gonna make a big purchase I'll grab the wallet for the day. If not, I just trust the phone (though, my pixel often needs 3-5 passes before it connects with the card machine, which is annoying - i'm forever telling the cafe/shop that it's my phone, not their machine...).

I would always want a card.
I use my phone more and more, but the prepper in me wonders how much trouble i could get myself into if i ended up on a train to somewhere and got a flat battery, or got mugged for my phone, and had no way of getting at funds to get home.
If im in walking distance of home (even if that walking for 2 or 3 hrs) i would be happy without a card i think.
but wouldnt go further without one.
Having said that, some banks let you get at cash out of the machine with nothing, dont they? or do you have to have a phone to approve that? The prepper in me is not prepped enough to have looked into that.
not convinced about a battery pack. Its just another thing to keep charged.
better to keep something like this on you, as you cna always find a plug if you need to?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWICK-Charger-Folding-Adapter-Samsung-WHITE/dp/B0BXVPCRVK/

nice and slim, though probably not very robust
Though even slimmer would be a £50 note that lives in the back your phone, so you could buy one (or a charge pack) should the need arise.

Just writing this I am feeling goosebumps and heat at the thought of being at a payment till and my phone not working

Had this happen once when all I had was my phone and the POS terminal failed. It was no big deal. I just postponed the purchase. For petrol or meals where you’ve taken the thing already I’m sure most places would be considerate and helpful.

submarinedFree Member
I still carry a card as Google Pay appears to have a £100 limit in a lot of places.

Does it? I bought my last car, from the dealership via contactless. He joked it wouldn't work, but it did! That may just be due to Apple Pay having different limits or something though.

Very occasionally Applepay gets refused and I have to put my card in and enter my PIN.

I take my card with me as a back up for an important purchase.

I was unsure if I would get any sensible answers to this as it is very much a 1st world problem but the answers have been really useful thank you.

I think I am going to go down the route of cards hidden in cars (must remember it is there if I sell them) and a note in the back of a slim case. That said @olly and his 'prepper' status resonated with me, maybe a card stashed in my work backpack for the monthly trip to the office.

Still carry cards - had plenty of times where, say in a pub, it's rejected google wallet on my watch or phone and I've had to put the card in.  The whole point of me setting my watch up was so I didn't have to get either my phone or wallet out in a busy place - tap and go.  It's usually the venue's issue though.

Does it? I bought my last car, from the dealership via contactless. He joked it wouldn’t work, but it did! That may just be due to Apple Pay having different limits or something though.

Yup. But it could be the retailer's, card provider, or Google Pay setting the limit, and the lowest takes precedence.
Despite repeated attempts to sort it I can't make payments of more than £100 with my phone at the local Tesco.

Yeah, google pay limit is £100. And as my van is always over that to fill up I always carry a card too. Cash, maybe depending on where I am going. Still some places that are cash only - fish and chip shops etc. So yeah, still a proper wallet as I don't think we are there yet with phone only for stuff.

I’ve moved completely to iPhone only with a £5 note in the back of the case that only ever gets used when I go in a corner shop for some sweets and they won’t take a card for that low value.

Before Covid I was in Korea watching everyone do everything with their phones and thought ‘that’ll never catch on in the UK’. Wrong about that, like so much else.

Oh and my local petrol station 'pay at pump' only does cards.

PS I rarely carry any cash. Precisely 77p in my wallet in loose change. More bloody loyalty cards than cash.

Phone for everything, I frequently now misplace my wallet for weeks at a time !

I regularly breach the £100 limit that keeps being mentioned on Google Wallet, it definitely isn't a Google restriction..

Just writing this I am feeling goosebumps and heat at the thought of being at a payment till and my phone not working.

No different to being at the till and realising you've forgotten/lost your wallet.

AFAIK there is no limit on Google Pay itself. Like I say, the card issue or the retailer may have a limit though

Just writing this I am feeling goosebumps and heat at the thought of being at a payment till and my phone not working.

Had this happen just before Christmas in Tesco when trying to pay for a near-£300 shop. Payment wouldn't work either via the Tesco app itself, or Apple Pay. Thank **** I'd lifted my wallet that morning, although 99% of the time I don't!

Oh and my local petrol station ‘pay at pump’ only does cards.

Same here, they've yet to get new devices for their pumps to allow contactless, so it's card-only.

2 cards and forget the phone?

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Prison wallet?

Never carry cash. And almost never carry a card.
I've paid £1000+ on ApplePay, if it doesn't work then I just won't buy the item.

I use Apple pay on my watch for everything these days. Regularly pop out without a wallet

Wallet has debit card and driving licence in, plus some notes. It's tiny (Trove). Carried in case I think I might need cash, plus the local self service petrol pumps need a card and pin rather than a tap with a card

Met my mate at Sherwood just before Christmas for a bike ride.
When we paid for car parking, it turns out the payment machines don't work with phone contactless - dunno why, but didn't work on my Android phone, or his Apple phone.
I ended up paying for both of us on my debit card, as he didn't have anything else on him to pay with.
He also didn't have any proof of ID required for his hire bike, such as driver's licence, so had to leave his car key as a deposit 🤣
If he'd have been on his own I'm not sure what he would have done for paying for the parking to get out of the car park.

My phone payment works most of the time, but sometimes it just refuses - don't know if that's an issue my end, or the payment terminal. Either way, there's no way I would rely just on my phone for payment.

Google Pay's limit is higher if you unlock the phone I think.

I actually got caught out with this earlier this week. I'd booked a room at an Easy Hotel (it was sub-£40 slap in the middle of the city centre, don't judge me). Even though I'd paid in full online they still wanted card details, presumably as some sort of security deposit (because there's a lot to break, obvs). I ended up ringing my partner, "go to my bag, find my wallet, dig out the card, read the number to me..." on the very edge of reception in Reception. God knows what would have happened if I hadn't been able to do that, I'm not entirely convinced the receptionist knew either.

i have pictures of all my bank cards on my phone, so when I have to buy something online and the details aren't stored, and paypal isn't an option, I don't have to find my wallet

@flicker No different to being at the till and realising you’ve forgotten/lost your wallet.

Yes, same thing to a degree but a bit different as forgetting your wallet is because you are a numpty, not being able to pay by phone is because there is an infrastructure issue which is largely beyond your control. I can still remember the time I whacked in around a 100 quid in diesel and 2 people from the front of the queue to pay I patted my pocket and realised my debit card was on the side at home. The physical response to the situation was totally out of proportion but I was sweating like a pig near a politician. Fortunately they let me leave the car and walk home (2 miles only) to get my card. Was a bit embarrassing but not the end of the world. 

I still only use cards and cash. My local greengrocer only takes cash - there's another further up the road which takes cards but the quality isn't as good or as fresh. A couple times I've had to bail my mate out when Apple Pay didn't work in the pub and I've had to use my card. I've also had an issue with an e-ticket for a football match so now print out a paper copy.

Watch with Phone as a backup.

Yeah, google pay limit is £100

it isn't. Larger payments will require additional security - often being a recent biometric unlock before the payment will work. If your phone is "just unlocked" and you tap it the payment will fail, but retrying after an unlock (which you should be prompted to do) should work.

There may be some old terminals where the terminal itself has a block on larger payments, but tbh I can't think of a time I "accidentally" needed to spend £100, so I just take a backup payment method when I know I've a big spend coming up..

OP - just your phone with a £20 note stuffed in the back

Keep my cards in my car and just use my phone for everything.

I still carry a card as Google Pay appears to have a £100 limit in a lot of places.

The only time I get this is with my Halifax debit card - why they think £100 is a sensible limit is beyond me.  The only time Google pay has failed me other wise was a few months ago when we checked in at a hotel in the early hours and I needed to pay with my credit card.

I'd checked before we left on the trip and was told that GPay had no limit on the credit card - got to the hotel and it wouldn't work.  Yet again it was a Halifax card!

I don't normally carry a wallet/card, especially since the limit increased (during COVID?). I just use my phone. That's in the Scottish Highlands where one might expect an above-average infrastructure problem.

Phone with a credit card and £10 note tucked behind in the slim case.

I've been caught out with "pay at pump" which doesnt take contactless, or "cash only" shops

That's the other thing, isn't it. I don't see why they shouldn't exist but I've yet to come across an ATM which accepts contactless, so if you do hit 'cash only' and you've only got your phone, you're stumped.

Maybe an emergency 50 note

I cant think of many situations where a £50 note would help... Couple of £10's and a £5 would be more helpful.

I cant think of many situations where a £50 note would help

Lighting cigars?

I've lasted since Covid struck only carrying my phone and paying with that. It's literally been a handful of times that I've been caught out, in four years and thousands of transactions.

That’s the other thing, isn’t it. I don’t see why they shouldn’t exist but I’ve yet to come across an ATM which accepts contactless, so if you do hit ‘cash only’ and you’ve only got your phone, you’re stumped.

They're coming. It's taken ages because ATMs cost a tonne of money, it's hard to update them with new hardware (like a RFID reader) so providers understandably wait until they need replacing through old age before replacing them with newer, fancier ones.

As an aside, although I don't use cash, more people are, and the stats for the amount of cash taken out of the ATMs run by the woods-adjacent building society that I work for are flabbergasting.

Still carry cards here - usually debit + credit card. I don't have a payment method loaded onto my phone.

One of the guys in my cycling club paid for a coffee with his watch the other week - i had no idea you could even do this!

I also travel for work a bit - including overseas - i'll always ensure i've got at least 2 methods of paying for anything when away from home, even if its just my own credit card as a back-up to my corporate card.

My 16 year old daughter regards me as basically Amish in my attitudes - she rarely takes her bank card anywhere - just uses her phone.

could you take the chip out of the card and have it inlaid into a sovereign ring? I realised last summer I has on the train to london for work and I'd not picked up my wallet as rarely do and also that I didn't have a coat luckily it was nice weather and my phone worked everywhere to pay for stuff.

I also travel for work a bit – including overseas – i’ll always ensure i’ve got at least 2 methods of paying for anything when away from home, even if its just my own credit card as a back-up to my corporate card.

Yeah, I always have a physical credit card abroad, even though it's also on my phone, just in case

@surfer I cant think of many situations where a £50 note would help… Couple of £10’s and a £5 would be more helpful.

Yeah, I get you. I was thinking bulk, one 50 versus a few other denominations adding to the thickness and reducing the fit of the phone in a case. I might be overthinking it, I do that a lot.

could you take the chip out of the card and have it inlaid into a sovereign ring?

No, there's an antenna built into the card as well.

could you take the chip out of the card and have it inlaid into a sovereign ring?

I'm pretty sure I've seen a Ticktac or Youtube video of that being done.