Paying For Purchases With Your Phone
Paying For Purchases With Your Phone
By D.S. Mitchell
Fumbling About
I was holding up the grocery store check out line while I anxiously dug around the bottom of my purse for my debit card. I was getting worried. Could I have lost the damn thing? While I tried to remember when I last used the card, I looked up and realized the guy directly behind me was rhythmically tapping his foot on the vinyl flooring. I gave him a weak smile and a whispered, “I’m sorry,” just as my fingers touched the cold plastic of the card. After paying for my purchases, I corralled everything and headed to the exit. As I passed the last row of cashiers I saw a young lady hold her cell phone in front of the payment terminal and wave it a couple time. I decided, right then and there, that when I got home I would go on the internet and find out about payment apps for my phone.
What I Found Out
As I suspected there is a lot of information on contactless payment systems, such as ‘digital wallet’. Mobile payment apps are growing increasingly popular. Apparently nearly 85% of Americans own smartphones and the benefits provided by such payment systems are more and more evident. Here are a few of the benefits I learned about.
- Convenience: No more digging around your purse for your debit card or cash. Just take out your phone and open the digital wallet app and wave or tap your phone near the payment terminal. Easy peasy.
- Security: A mobile payment app has security advantages unavailable with other payment methods. First, and most obviously, you don’t need to carry cash or credit cards, which are always at risk of being lost or stolen. Second, the mobile payment apps have layers of extra security to protect user data, like encrypting personal information, plus there is a layer of biometric authentication such as fingerprint and facial recognition. Lastly, each transaction involves a one time code or token. The token is used to complete the transaction in place of the buyer’s actual personal information. The code is for a one time only use. That token cannot be reused and is effectively useless if hacked.
- Speed: It’s super fast, just a one-two-three tap to pay. Plus there’s a budget and expense tracking feature. If you happen to have a money management app it can be easily integrated with the digital wallet app. Every transaction is instantly recorded for future reference and review.
- Safety: Since COVID-19 hit everyone is a bit more concerned about germs on surfaces and in the air. Mobile apps enable the consumer to complete their purchases without handling germ infected cash or touching germ infected credit card terminals.
Setting It Up
Here’s how to set up your contactless payment system.
- Get your phone and find the pre-installed payment app on the screen. It will be Apple Wallet for iphones or GPay for Android devices.
- Tap on the icon, Apple Pay or the $ icon, then enter credit or debit card information into the fields. You can add multiple cards and select a default for the card used most frequently.
- When you want to make a purchase, launch the app (select card preference if you did not select default), hold your smart phone or smartwatch close to the merchant’s card terminal.
- You will be asked to confirm the purchase. If you are using a debit card for payment, you may be asked your pin number.
I did it, it’s all set up. Now, my next challenge is remembering to use the damn thing.
Happy 2024.
