How to Pay with Your Phone

Mobile wallets are just one more way that our smartphones are bringing added convenience to our lives. If you’re looking to ditch your overstuffed wallet or save time in the checkout line, learning how to pay with your phone is a must. What’s more, paying with your phone can potentially increase your security, sidestepping the risks of card skimming and data breaches down the line. And once you’re used to it, it’s often just simply quicker to do. Use this guide on how to pay with your phone, whether it’s an iPhone or an Android that’s your smartphone of choice.

How to Pay with Your Phone

1. To be able to make mobile wallet payments, you’ll first have to be sure that you have an NFC-capable device. NFC, which stands for Near Field Communication, is the technology that enables your phone to interface with the payment terminal. Nowadays, most phones come with this technology built in, including iPhones 6 or later as well as most Android models.
2. Next, you’ll need to download and set up a mobile wallet app. Typically iPhones come with Apple Pay already downloaded, just as Android devices possess Google Wallet. To activate these apps, you will just need to enter your credit or debit card information.
3. Once you’re ready to pay with your phone, just look for the NFC terminal near the register. These are typically marked with the logos for popular mobile wallet apps like Google Wallet and Apple Pay. Once your items have been scanned and you’re ready to pay, all you need to do is tap your phone to the terminal instead of swiping your credit or debit card and then validate the payment. The validation process varies from device to device and based on your settings. For instance, payment with the latest iPhones can be validated using Face ID, which scans and verifies your face using an infrared camera. Just as well, you can verify your payment using a PIN number or fingerprint scan.
4. Once your payment is validated, you’re all set! While you won’t necessarily find mobile wallet-compatible payment terminals at every place you shop, the idea is certainly catching on. So much so that physical cards— and maybe even packed wallets!— may eventually become a thing of the past.

Trademore has no connections, affiliations, partnerships or sponsorship agreements with the companies, entities, services and/or products mentioned in this blog post. The opinions, thoughts, views, and expressions made within this blog post are independently created by and attributable to Trademore authors and/or contributors.