Cards are sometimes faster but using my card usually goes like this:
Swipes card in reader, producing a loud error noise
"Nope, you have a chip. You need to stick it in the bottom. Hit next. Now enter your PIN. Do you want cash back? Hit okay. Let me see your ID, please."
Shows ID next to card so they can compare
"Sign this receipt, please. This one's your copy."
American, I guess? Me too, but I live in the Netherlands and cashless payment here is so much easier. If it's under an amount you set (say, €25/day) paying is as simple as holding your PIN card near a reader for a few seconds. If it's over the limit, do the same but then you have to authorise with a PIN.
Ever seen a busy pub or coffee shop where serving is being slowed down while they wait for the 1 or or two card readers.
If your not grown up enough to mange your fiances so you can keep £50 -100 in change to mange incidental day to day expenses dont be surprised if people treat you with condecension.
Electronic (particularly Paywave/Apple Pay/NFC) is miles faster than me & a shop assistant both mucking around counting coins, let alone queueing up at ATM machines or the "don't you have anything smaller?" conversations.
He says having moved from New Zealand to the UK in the last 6 months. Cash is a constant PITA here for me.
I'm of the generation where as kids ('90s) we used EFTPOS (electronic debit system which took an absolute maximum of 10 seconds including manual retailer and customer actions) to buy ~US$0.30 chocolate bars from corner shops. That was helped by both the retailers and customers essentially paying no transaction fees. (Doesn't apply to PayWave, but that's another story and the customer expectations are the same)
