On The Money: Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Apple Pay explained

Over the last ten years, smartphones have replaced MP3 players, PDAs, cameras and – for some – even dedicated portable computing devices like laptops. Now, smartphone and wearable vendors are trying to replace your wallet by cementing themselves as a crucial part of the mobile payments space.

If you’re confused about things like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay – here’s everything you need to know.

What are mobile payments services?

Mobile Payment services (also known as mobile payment platforms or digital wallets) is a term that refers services or apps that allow you to pay for things with your phone or smartwatch (via a connected credit or debit card). The basic idea here is for these devices ultimately replace a physical wallet, allowing you to carry one less thing.

Why would you want to use one?

Well, as mentioned above, there’s an appealing convenience that’s central to the whole concept of mobile payment services. You already always have your phone on you all the time anyway, why not use it as a wallet?

Why might you not want to use one?

Well, there are a couple of things to highlight here – most of which occur on a practical level.

First of all, your devices can and will eventually run out of battery. Physical cards don’t suffer that drawback for obvious reasons. Likewise, not every shop out there supports payment via EFTPOS let alone specific mobile payment services like Google and Samsung Pay. Online shopping can be tricky for similar, albeit more-digital, reasons.

Then, there’s the payment services themselves to consider. These days, most major banking and financial institutions are supported by most of the major mobile payment services but there’s still a chance that – for whatever reason – your current bank might not support it.

On a practical level, mobile payment services also just extra steps to the everyday process of paying for things. Depending on your service of choice, you might have to open an app, log-in and then confirm the purchase – which can seem a little excessive compared to the regular contactless payment experience.

Security-nerds might also scoff at the idea of putting all their financial details into a single digital box, as it creates a new avenue for attack. Should Google or Apple or Samsung’s pay services ever get hacked or leaked, the potential damage her could be catastrophic.

To read more about Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Apple Pay please click on the link below…

Source: On The Money: Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Apple Pay Explained – PC World Australia