On: Apple unveils contactless payments via Tap to Pay ...

[Tempest1981]

> original copy-to-paper mechanism

And when the pressure-stamp machine broke, the merchant would use a pen, and write the card number by hand. No problem.

[jalk → Tempest1981]

Or just drag the length of the pen over the paper while card is underneath. Repeat a couple of times to get a good imprint while making sure to keep paper/card alignment

[el-salvador → jalk]

I've had this happen in 2018/2019 in a Central American country.