Refused NFC Payment via Phone – Poor Service and Conflicting Information

I visited Milady’s Village (Klerksdorp) today and had an incredibly frustrating experience. When I got to the till and took out my phone to tap (as I always do using NFC), the cashier asked if I had my physical card. I explained that I only carry my phone because it supports NFC payments — the exact same contactless technology that cards use.

Despite acknowledging that the payment would go through, the cashier told me I was not allowed to use my phone to tap. She claimed they’d been instructed by head office not to accept NFC phone payments, citing concerns about *****. However, tapping with a card was completely fine. This makes absolutely no sense — both use the same technology.

I asked who I could speak to about this, and they gave me a number for someone at head office. I called and was passed around, making three calls in total. I kept being referred to different people, and even had the line drop once. Eventually, I was told that head office is not aware of any instruction banning phone payments and would need to follow up with the store manager — who was off sick today, so nothing could be resolved.

This whole situation wasted over 30 minutes of my time, left me unable to pay for my items, and exposed a shocking lack of internal communication and understanding of basic contactless payment options. In 2025, it’s unacceptable for a major retailer to be this behind on widely used, secure technology.