Mobile Payments: Apple Pay Vs. Google Pay Vs. Samsung Pay

The latest trend in the smartphone world is mobile payments, and we had a chance to finally see how this system works in 2015. The biggest players in the mobile payments market are the same ones who are leading the smartphone industry: Apple, Samsung and Google. Apple introduced Apple Pay in late 2014, but it started to gain attention in the middle of 2015. By the end of the year, two other companies arrived at the mobile payments arena - Google, by renaming and overhauling Google Wallet to Android Pay; and afterwards, Samsung, by launching its Samsung Pay service.

Where can we use Mobile Payments?

Both Apple pay and Android Pay use NFC to pass the transactions, and both services require NFC terminal. They are already present in McDonald, Nike, LEGO stores as well as in hundreds of others franchise shops where you can use your smartphone to make a payment. But, a lot of local stores do not have NFC terminals yet, and it will probably take a few years for them to get themselves NFC terminals. You may not be able to use your iPhone or Android based phone in such stores, but you might be using your Samsung phone. Samsung Pay supports the MST standard instead of NFC, and this is the feature that can come in handy. All you have to do is to place your smartphone close to the machine where Credit Cards are swiped, and it will send a signal that makes it possible to pay using our phone. Sounds cool, right? And MST standard doesn't require any additional equipment for stores. Whether using NFC or MST, the point is that we don’t have to carry our wallets anymore, our mobile device is everything we will need shortly. And the answer to the original question "Where can we use Mobile Payments?" is everywhere! It just seems that Samsung Pay will be easier to use at the moment because there will be more places where this system will work out of the box.

Which Mobile Payments system is the simplest for users?

Apple Pay and Android Pay will activate automatically as you approach the terminal. With just a single tap on the fingerprint scanner, you can authorize the payment, and you’re done. On the other hand, Samsung Pay will not activate automatically. You need to swipe from the bottom of the screen to activate the payment app. After doing so, you can continue authorization with fingerprint scanning. With Samsung Pay, one additional step makes the payment process a bit slower. So, if you ask us which system is the simplest, we would have to say that Apple Pay and Android Pay are slightly simpler than Samsung Pay is.

Are Mobile Payments safe? Are there any security issues?

There’s no need to panic when it comes to mobile payments. It’s critical to know that paying with our smartphones is, in fact, secure on all three services. If you are paying with NFC terminal, it’s important to know that the Credit Card number does not get transferred over the air. Instead, devices use tokens. What exactly does it mean? It means that instead of using the real Credit Card numbers our mobile device transmits encrypted tokens. And it is impossible for hackers to pick up on those tokens and get your card number. As Samsung Pay is using MST transactions, the security is handled a bit differently than with NFC. Each time a purchase is made, the Samsung Pay sends two pieces of data to the payment terminal. The first piece is a 16-digit token that is actually the credit or debit card numberwhile the other piece is a one-time code that’s generated by the phone’s encryption key.We guess that you are now wondering how is this secure since we are sending the card number via phone? It isbecause this signal where the credit card number is sent appears for a very short period and it only spreads 5 cm in distance. It is like using an ordinary credit or debit card, and it is quite safe.

What smartphones can I use to make Mobile Payments? Do I need some app to do that?

The answer to this question depends on the company and their preferences. For example, Apple pay comes built in all iPhones. To use it all you need to do is to add your credit or debit card details in the Wallet app, and you’re ready to go. The app will be activated automatically as you approach the NFC terminal, and you can authorize it with TouchID. Apple Pay works on iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, as well as on iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6s Plus. It also works if we have the Apple Watch. In this case, Apple Pay will even work with older devices, such as iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s. To be able to use Samsung Pay, you need to have Samsung Pay app. It is a free app that you download from Google Play Store. To start the app, you just need to swipe from the bottom of the display, and it will be activated. Samsung Pay works only with top end Samsung smartphones, such as Samsung Galaxy S6, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, Samsung Galaxy S6 Active, Samsung Galaxy Note 5, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge +, Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. Samsung promised to bring Samsung Pay to more affordable phones in 2016. Android Pay has the best results when it comes to compatibility with mobile payments. It supports all smartphones with NFC chip, running 4.4 KitKat or later. The Android Pay app that you have to use is free, and you can download it from Google Play Store. This app is the most straight forward and the simplest because it has acleaner interface than Apple Pay app or Samsung Pay app have. The past year has set the standard for mobile payments. While we will probably still be carrying our wallets and our credit cards by the end of 2016, we’ll probably use them much less. After all, it will take some time before we became completely comfortable to pay by using mobile payments only. Images from: sammobile, theNextWeb, PC advisor