With the advancement of technology, there has been a massive shift from the use of paper cash to paperless cash. Most people today use credit and debit cards to make payments. This, however, has not put an end the menace of hackers stealing personal information and robbing people off of their hard-earned money.
There has been a rise in cases of credit card theft where credit card information is either assessed or leaked out to unauthorized third parties, thereby leaving cardholders counting huge losses.
This has led many to resort to using their mobile phones as the ideal mode of making payments in stores. Here are a few ways on how to use your phone to make payments in stores:
- Android Pay
Android Pay is one super effective mode of payment you can take advantage of to make payments in stores via your Android mobile phone. It was first launched in 2015 September and is ideal in making payments at a counter in a physical store as well as on online stores.
You can manage your debit and credit cards through the Android Pay app on your smartphone. For security purposes, you’ll need to set up a lock system either via your fingerprint or by using a passcode. This will help Android Pay to verify your identity before processing payments.
Android Pay uses the Near-Field Communication system. When you unlock your smartphone using your fingerprint or passcode and tap the phone onto the payment system in the store, the payment you need to make is processed instantly.
Your phone will transmit an encrypted code while making payments that will hide your credit card information. This guarantees you total security for your money.
- Apple Pay
Apple Pay was launched in 2014 October and is an effective mobile phone payment channel to use when making payments at both physical and online stores for iPhone users. Once you link your card details to the app, you can proceed to make payments with it.
Apple Pay is one very secure mode of smartphone payment. Once you make a purchase in a store, Apple Pay will generate a number that’s unique to your device as well as a transaction code for each payment you make.
Your debit or credit card details will therefore not be stored on your device, revealed on the payment system when you make a purchase, or shared with merchants or other third parties. The security of your personal information is therefore guaranteed.
- Samsung Pay
If you own a Samsung smartphone, you can take advantage of Samsung Pay to make payments by phone in stores. This payment platform, however, is not limited to Samsung phones only, it can also work on other Android phones as well.
What you need to do is to add your card information to the app and when it’s time to make a payment, all you’ll need to do is to unlock your phone, hold it against the payment terminal stripe in a store, and make your payment fast and easy.
Conclusion
The common denominator in these three modes of making phone payments in stores is feeding your credit card information to the apps which is still a huge security risk. There is, however, a much safer alternative to use in place of your credit card and that is making use of a virtual credit card.