The best mobile payment apps make it easy to make and send payments with your smartphone.
The best mobile payment applications
Contactless payment mobile apps have become popular since Near Field Communication (NFC), which turns personal smartphones into an equivalent payment card.
Just like contactless credit and debit cards, though, mobile payments have their limitations – but they also come with fees, and sometimes that’s not always so obvious.
Therefore, when mobile applications deliver according to promises digital wallet they are changing and expanding the way we pay for things in everyday life. They excel in small transactions, avoiding the need for cash, and this can be applied not only to shopping but also to everyday items.
However, as well as contactless payments, mobile payment apps can also be great for sending money to people you know, such as friends or family, or paying traders directly.
As contactless payment platforms continue to roll out, we’ll help you choose the right mobile app and an NFC system that can work for you.
Summary of the best mobile payment apps:
- Pay a fee for apple
- Google Pay
- Samsung Pay
- PayPal
- Venmo
Apple wants to make complex things simple and easy for everyone and provide their mobile payments, Pay a fee for apple is true of that philosophy. There’s no app to download and it works on an iPhone and can be used to shop online on a Mac.
Users provide credit card information for their Apple account. Then, the iPhone is used to make purchases through contactless payment at a retail establishment, and it is considered to be more secure as users have to verify their identity through a Touch ID sensor or Face ID. . Users can also easily send cash to each other via iMessage or simply ask Siri, the digital assistant. When you receive the cash, it goes to your Apple Pay Cash balance, which can then be transferred to your bank account.
Apple Pay is accepted at about half of all retail locations in the US, including popular Starbucks, Walgreens, McDonald’s and Best Buy retail locations, among others.
Android mobile payment application is Google Pay pre-installed on Android smartphones. It is accepted at many retail stores, including Bloomingdale’s, Chick-Fil-A, KFC, Nike and Staples, as well as online services such as Airbnb and DoorDash. It is arguably more secure than using traditional credit cards as card numbers are not sent directly and protected through multi-layered secure encryption.
Google Pay supports several credit cards from several major providers, such as Chase, Citi, Discover and American Express. However, debit cards from your small credit union that only have three branches are unlikely to be on a supported list. However, there is a way to directly connect your PayPal account and all Visa cards are supported through Visa Checkout.
Another confusing thing is that in order to be able to send money directly to other users (person-to-person transactions), you need another application: Google Pay Send.
With their market-leading Galaxy phones now favored by users, Samsung also now offers its mobile payment app, Samsung Pay. It is supported on some of Samsung’s latest flagship smartphones, such as the Galaxy S9, but not on other manufacturers’ phones, limiting wider adoption. The Samsung Pay app connects to credit and debit cards of several major banks.
The good thing about Samsung Pay is that acceptance is almost ubiquitous as sellers don’t have to choose to join the program. Instead, Samsung Pay works with regular credit card readers, using newer EMV or NFC technology, or even older ones using magnetic stripe technology – by holding the phone side by side. Edge, the credit card information contained in the magnetic strip is transmitted via a technology known as magnetic secure transmission (MST).
With the flexibility of interacting with a credit card reader, Samsung Pay can really replace the pile of credit cards in your wallet with a mobile app.
It seems like PayPal Having been around for years when it comes to online transactions, and with their mobile app, they want to go beyond just providing merchant protection when buying online.
Today, they want to make direct person-to-person payments and, moreover, to enter the retail payment space, although you’re still more likely to pay online with this service than at the counter. pay. This is due to the lack of support for NFC with PayPal’s app, and only a handful of retailers that accept PayPal have hampered the effort so far.
PayPal’s downside is fees, which can be complicated and confusing because there are so many types of fees. At least for the purchase of products online or in person, PayPal does not charge, nor does it charge a person-to-person transfer fee (without merchant protection), so you can deposit some face to help split checks.
However, while a transfer from the linked bank account is free, with Instant Funds Transfer from the linked debit card, a transfer fee applies.
Venmo works via a mobile app on your smartphone and can be done with your Facebook account registration, if you wish. Next, you link your bank account or credit card. You can then use the app to send or receive money from other Venmo users, or you can send money by phone number or email because the app can access your Facebook or phone contacts; and if the recipient isn’t currently on Venmo, they’ll be prompted to create an account.
Venmo is more useful for online payments, but some retailers accept it, including Forever 21 and Foot Locker.