Each of us has been in situations when we forgot our wallet at home and found ourselves in embarrassing situations, standing at the cash register with a shopping cart full of groceries, or were left at work without lunch. Today this problem is easily solved – there are several ways to pay for purchases using a smartphone.
In the modern world our smartphone is always with us and it performs many functions, we almost never let it out of our hands or out of sight, it is always around, it is always with us. Smartphone is convenient and safe to use as a means of payment, but to do this you need to prepare it. First, you have to make sure that your smartphone supports NFC, which is contactless payment technology for mobile devices. These days, almost all gadgets are equipped with this function – not only expensive flagships, but also budget models, which everyone can afford. Second, download the necessary applications, authorize and link your cards to payment services, but more about that below.
Mobile payment systems Google Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay
To use contactless payment, download and install on your phone one of the applications of payment systems: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay – depending on the brand of smartphone. Then add your card details to the app and choose a confirmation method, like PIN or fingerprint. Done! You can use your smartphone instead of your plastic card. To pay, all you have to do is hold your device up to the payment terminal with the screen unlocked. Wait until the screen displays a message that the payment has passed. Read more here about gas stations that take apple pay.
You can add multiple cards to the application. By default, the primary card for payment is the one whose data was entered first, but it is easy to adjust this order in the settings.
If you are afraid to add the data of your regular cards to the application, make a virtual one and link it to the service. Its only difference from “plastic” is that it has no physical carrier. Usually, virtual cards are issued almost instantly, and you can apply for them in the mobile app of your bank or through the website of the financial institution.
A virtual card cannot be lost or forgotten, and is also impossible to steal. All data is kept at your fingertips, right in your smartphone. Payment with pay-services is much safer than with plastic.
Wallet apps
In addition to payment services, there are many special applications-wallets, where you can store all your “plastic”: not only payment cards, but also various loyalty programs cards of stores and restaurants.
The choice of such mobile applications is quite wide, and using them is quite simple: it is enough to spend a few minutes and transfer all plastic cards to the application on your phone, and swollen with discounts wallet next time leave at home. By the way, discount cards can also be stored in apps like Google Pay, about which we wrote above.
Some of the most popular wallet apps:
“Wallet” – a convenient and simple app, all you have to do is scan the card with your camera and it will immediately be added to it.
Apple Wallet – a branded application for iPhone users, with its help you can not only store discount cards in your phone, but also pay for purchases. Read more here.
Take out money from an ATM without a card
If you suddenly need cash, you can also withdraw the required amount from an ATM using your smartphone. Hold your phone to a special reader, enter a PIN-code, select the option to withdraw cash, enter the desired amount and confirm the operation by bringing your smartphone to the reader again.
This method works if both the smartphone and the ATM support the contactless payment function. However, sometimes it is possible to withdraw cash without a plastic card without NFC. Some ATMs have a scanner to read a QR code. It works like this: go to the banking application on your phone, get a special code, bring your smartphone to the scanner, withdraw money.
Payment by biometrics
In some large stores now you can not only pay for purchases by card or smartphone but also with the biometrics – the system of identification of people by their physical characteristics. A special camera is installed at the cash register, it is enough for the buyer to look into it – and that’s it, the payment has passed.
In order for the system to start recognizing you, you need to provide your biometric data, it can be done at the bank, which provides such services, and agree to their processing. Of course, this technology is not yet available everywhere, but over time, the biometric payment will appear everywhere.
The advantages of payment with a smartphone
No need to constantly carry a wallet with a bunch of plastic cards, which are not always useful.
When withdrawing cash from an ATM you don’t have to worry about your card getting stuck in the receiver.
Paying for purchases with your smartphone is safer. When you pay, a temporary generated token is transmitted, which means that neither the cashier nor the store receives information about your card, and even if the data is stolen, attackers will not be able to use it.
With many bank cards small purchases are made without a PIN-code, which is only in the hands of fraudsters – by taking possession of plastic they can dispose of the money until the card is blocked. And when you pay with your smartphone, the phone asks for your fingerprint, face scan, or password before each transaction.
Of course, don’t forget that in order to pay with your smartphone, you need to set up the right app on your phone beforehand. You also need to keep your smartphone charged.
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