Android smartphones can now tap-to-pay too

Your Android smartphone can now replace your wallet, if you live in the United States

GOOGLE has kickstarted the roll-out of its Apple Pay rival – Android Pay

 

The Android Pay roll-out, which starts today in the United States, marks the Californian firm's second attempt at making mobile payments a mainstream feature of Android smartphones.

Android Pay will allow customers to tap their smartphone against a payment terminal, like a contactless credit or debit card, to authorise the transaction.

Credit and Debit cards are stored securely on the mobile devices, meaning you can leave your wallet at home.

On some Samsung Android phones, Google's in-built solution will sit alongside Samsung Pay.

Android Pay, Samsung Pay and Apple Pay all provide the same functionality – although only the latter two use your fingerprint to keep transactions secure.

Google Wallet, the company's first attempt in mobile payments, flopped because it didn't have a big enough network of compatible devices and wireless carriers willing to work with it. 

 

Softcard, a rival effort by US mobile carriers Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, also got little traction. Google bought much of Softcard's technology and is combining the two to form Android Pay.

The timing is also better for Android Pay. Apple Pay has raised awareness about mobile payments and more merchants now have equipment capable of accepting the payments.

Some 250,000 stores across the UK alone are now compatible and accepting Apple Pay transactions from either an iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus or Apple Watch.

Google has not revealed when it plans to launch Android Pay in other countries.

Samsung's tap-to-pay solution is currently only available in South Korea, but a wider debut is scheduled for September 28.

 

US Android users can now begin adding their credit and debit cards to their smartphones

What are the advantages of these smartphone payment solutions?

Although taking out plastic isn't difficult, using the phone is more convenient if you already have it out – say, to check Facebook while you waiting in the queue.

But the bigger advantage is security. 

With all three services, you're assigned a substitute card number unique to the phone.

The store will only get this randomly-generated number, so it is system hacked, the number printed onto your Debit or Credit card is not compromised.

To work, the substitute number must be paired with a one-time code generated by that device. For hackers to be able to get that number they would also need physical access to your phone.

 

Apple Pay requires a quick scan using the Touch ID fingerprint scanner to authenticate the purchase

Apple Pay and Samsung Pay also secure all transactions with the smartphones' in-built fingerprint sensor, which means thieves cannot go on a spending spree – like they could if they got hold of the contactless card in your wallet.

What Are The Disadvantages?

There's a chance it won't work when you are trying to pay.

Many merchants don't have the newer payment terminals that Apple Pay and Android Pay require.

Samsung Pay has a backup mechanism. When the phone is tapped, it can mimic the old-school, magnetic signals produced by card swipes. That means it should work with most existing equipment - but not everywhere. For instance, you're not likely to give the waiter your phone - let alone your passcode - to pay the check at a restaurant.

 

The Android Pay app, which allows users to add their card details to their NFC-compatible phone

 

Using a Google Nexus 6 to pay for a bottle of Coke from a vending machine, using Android Pay

Using a Google Nexus 6 to pay for a bottle of Coke from a vending machine, using Android Pay

How Do You Make A Payment?

For Android Pay, you need to turn on the screen and unlock your phone, using either the fingerprint reader or passcode. 

Then you tap the phone next to the payment terminal. 

Apple Pay is similar, except it works even with the screen off. When the phone detects the payment terminal, it lights up, brings up your default card and asks for your fingerprint.

With Samsung Pay, you need to swipe up from the bottom first. That's because the phone has no way of detecting when it's near a traditional, magnetic terminal. 

You can swipe up from the lock screen or the home screen, or if the screen is off (but the phone is on). If you're in an app such as Facebook, you need to get to the home screen first.

Apple Pay and Android Pay will work when you're in any app. There's no need to swipe first or launch any payment app.

 

What Do You Need?

Android Pay requires an Android phone that has a near-field communication, or NFC, chip (most do) and at least the KitKat version of Android, which came out in 2013. 

Samsung Pay works only with the Galaxy S6, S6 Edge and S6 Edge Plus and the Note 5, along with the upcoming Gear S2 smartwatch. 

For Apple Pay, you need an iPhone 6 or 6s, the Plus versions or an Apple Watch. The latest iPad models support in-app payments, but not those at stores.

Your card also needs to be from a bank that has signed on.