The truth is, using a smartphone as a payment device -- the payment could actually be credit, debit or a gift card -- is much more secure than using a regular plastic credit card with a magnetic stripe (magstripe) on the back, according to Morea.
5 Major Benefits of Mobile Payments
- Integrate and increase incentive programs.
- Ability to offer credit card payments.
- Track customer trends and inventory.
- Increase speed of checking customers out.
- Save money on credit card fees.
A customer clicks to pay with a credit or debit card on your website. A payment gateway (that you have integrated into your website) receives the card data and transfers it to your acquiring bank. The acquiring bank receives a payment request and forwards it to the card networks (Visa and Mastercard).
Payment method types
- Credit Cards. As a global payment solution, credit cards are the most common way for customers to pay online.
- Mobile Payments.
- Bank Transfers.
- Ewallets.
- Prepaid Cards.
- Direct Deposit.
- Cash.
A mobile payment is a money payment made for a product or service through a portable electronic device such as a tablet or cell phone. Mobile payment technology can also be used to send money to friends or family members, such as with the applications PayPal and Venmo.
A cardholder obtains a credit or debit card from an issuing bank, uses the account to pay for goods or services. Payment processors are companies that process credit and debit card transactions. Payment processors connect merchants, merchant banks, card networks and others to make card payments possible.
Google Wallet lets you leave your credit cards or cash in your pocket and pay with your phone. Making tap-to-pay work, however, requires turning on Near Field Communication (NFC), which enables your phone to talk to the payment terminal. You'll need to head to Settings > NFC. Then, make sure you turn NFC on.
Though paying with your phone is easy and convenient, there are a few things you should consider if you want to keep your money and personal information safe. You will need to input your banking or credit card information, so the app should be from a company you know will keep your information safe.
- PayPal. Courtesy of PayPal. Buy on Paypal.com.
- Venmo. Courtesy of Venmo. Buy on Venmo.com.
- Square Cash. Courtesy of Square Cash. Buy on Cash.me.
- Zelle. Courtesy of Zelle. Buy on Zellepay.com.
- Google Pay. Courtesy of Google Pay. Buy on Google.com.
- Facebook Messenger. Courtesy of Facebook. Buy on Facebook.com.
A digital wallet is a way to carry your credit and debit card information in a secure digital form on your mobile device (smartphone, smartwatch, tablet). Instead of using your physical plastic card to make purchases, a digital wallet allows you to pay almost anywhere — in stores, in apps, or online.
Samsung Pay and Google Pay are similar in many ways, including the basic functionality: swipe your phone at the register to pay, but the main differences between the two are: Samsung Pay is available only on Samsung devices. You can use Google Pay only on terminals that accept contactless payments over NFC.
QuickBooks GoPayment from Intuit is a free app and reader to accept magstripe and EMV chip debit and credit cards, along with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.
10 Ways to Pay with Your Smartphone
- Venmo.
- Square Cash.
- Google Wallet.
- TransferWise.
- Chase.
- Square.
- Level Up.
- Samsung Pay.
Send & receive money using a phone number
- Go to pay.google.com.
- At the top, click Send or request money.
- With "Send money" selected, click $0 and enter the amount you want to send.
- Confirm your payment method. You can also include a memo.
- Enter your recipient's phone number.
- Click Send.
The idea is that you just touch your phone to an NFC reader (or bring it to within a few centimeters), and it acts just like the credit card or debit card you use right now. A mobile-payment-enabled phone is associated with a bank or credit-card company just like it's associated with a phone-service provider.
Can I use my phone credit to buy things? As always, you can spend your phone credit on the usual calls, texts or data. Thanks to Pay By Mobile, you can also buy apps, subscriptions and services in the Google Play Store.
