This review starts with Sabbaba. If you haven’t yet peeped their Mediterranean-health-conscious-fast-food game, I would say it’s worth the effort. I’m not saying it’s 30-minute drive-to-get-there worthy, but the shit is on point for a quick tasty feed. They got the dips, the good falafel, the salads and customized pita pockets – it’s one of those go-to spots everybody has their own favourites at. (I must put the disclaimer in here that they do not have kebabs or gozleme, in case you were wondering.) I usually stop by the one near my work every now and then (Sydney MLC Centre) because it’s a short walk from my office, but they have branches in Bondi, Newtown, and Sydney Westfield. They were promoting 50% off your meal when you pay through Paypal, so naturally as I already had a Paypal account which I use mostly for online transactions, I thought I’d get involved the next day.
After downloading the new ap on my iPhone in the morning, I went through the prompts which were logical enough and smooth to navigate through. I attached a photo of my face, then at lunchtime walked down to get me a Salad Bowl with some chicken shish.
I switched the ap on, which enabled the girl at the counter to identify my handsome-ass face. She smiled, she read out my name to which I agreed, and that was it. Within 5 seconds I had an email from Paypal with a receipt for the transaction. I couldn’t help but love how easy this shit was, and as I stood there waiting for my order to be prepared, I wondered what the actual benefits were to have this ability to pay with just my phone. In terms of cost, I came up with nothing. Whether you’re comparing it with cash or a debit card, even with a Pay Pass or Tap and Go function, it’s still a pretty easy way to pay. What came to mind was I’d heard that some banks were issuing chips to use like Pay Passes, with the concept of sticking it on the back of your phone… A tech geek would tell you it’s all moving toward integrating your money with your phone, and I’ll pay that coz I’m not completely up with all the latest. I’m just an end user in all of this shit tryna get a deal on my lunch. I can’t be thinking of what a world without physical money would be like, though this was a reminder that one day soon(er?), and in the Western world at least, that might be a real possibility.
My experience was definitely seamless, which is what they intended. The real advantage would be with people buying coffees with no change or cash, because in its infancy I probably wouldn’t pull out my phone to check if the bar/café/store I’m at is registered on Paypal. I will say Sabbaba delivered yet again, and I now have an e-receipt in case I ever need to recall the time I got down with technology.