> > As for other fast food places, I really do think it varies on a store-by-store basis. I pay by debit or credit a lot, and I've seen some Jack-in-the-Boxes that do and some that don't. Ditto Taco Bell and Carl's Jr. I am, however, largely surprised if I ever go *anywhere* plastic is not accepted. Such places are increasingly few and far between.
>
> That's kind of strange to hear, since I don't think I've *ever* seen a fast-food joint that accepts credit cards. I imagine it's a difference between life out there on the left coast and life over here on the New Left coast - California tends to be a bit quicker to modernise than stuffy old Maskachusetts. My favourite pizza parlour, in fact, carries a prominent notice on the cash register that says "cash only; no cheques or credit accepted."
>
> I agree that it's more convenient to pay with a credit card - I tend not to carry cash in excess of two or three dollars onhand, and it kinda sucks to have to go to the bank every time I want to get a hamburger or somesuch.

Actually I wasn't surprised about the credit card part, just the debit card. I can't imagine any halfway-decent-sized shop or company which doesn't accept debit cards. Plenty of places here don't accept credit cards or cheques, but if they accept cash, they accept a debit card.

When I worked on the ferries, every now and then somebody would ask how we managed to use EFTPOS (the debit card system in NZ) in the boat's bar and cafe. I usually told them each boat had a really, really long extension cord back to a phone jack in Auckland, and all the ferry routes were mapped out so they wouldn't get tangled.

Brunnen-"ironically, many of these people had mobile phones sticking out of their pockets while they asked"G