You better get used to paying with your phone. It’s already a popular method of making purchases in places like Japan and even some countries in Africa, but in the United States it hasn’t caught on quite as quickly. While so-called tap-to-pay methods have been around for a number of years already, Apple’s recent announcement of their own mobile payment service, called Apple Pay, has sent a new wave of excitement through the technology community.
Services like Google Wallet and CurrentC are certainly not new, but overall adoption and acceptance has been sluggish. Apple Pay might be just the thing to propel mobile payments to widespread popularity. But how does Apple Pay compare to other services that already have established methods and techniques? Read on to see how Apple Pay might completely change the game and if it could end up being one service you want to use.
Availability
Availability can be a huge factor in just how quickly people attach themselves to new technology. Apple Pay was only recently unleashed on the public, and so far it is only available on some of the latest iPhones. Essentially, if users want to take advantage of what Apple Pay offers, they need to have recently bought a new iPhone. While it’s true that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have sold extremely well, they still only represent a fraction of all the mobile devices out there. Compare that to other services like Google Wallet which has not only been around for longer (about 3 years) but is available for a lot of different devices from Samsung to Motorola to HTC. Apple Pay will likely spread to a wide variety of mobile devices, but that will still take some time.
Privacy
When it comes to economic transactions, many people like to know their financial information and purchase history will remain private. Many services, in addition to saving credit card and bank account information, also have access to a user’s personal information and history of transactions. Apple Pay acts differently, giving itself no access to that information. This feature does have the potential to upset some businesses, especially since they often use that data to make profiles of their customers to offer special deals and incentives, but it could prove to be a hit with users who don’t feel comfortable having that information out there for companies to consume. On the downside, Apple Pay doesn’t allow for certain information like gift cards, loyalty cards, and coupons to be entered into its database. This feature is one that is a prominent part of some services like those offered by Google Wallet.
Security
Given the recent security breaches that affected major companies like Home Depot and Target, which in turn exposed debit and credit information about tens of millions of customers, people are justifiably concerned about their security. For that reason, mobile payment services may end up becoming more popular since they are deemed more secure than regular credit cards. These services, including Apple Pay, don’t use card information but rather transmit a 16-digit code intended to only be used for one transaction. Both Google Wallet and Apple Pay also use tokenization, which generates that code from a chip that doesn’t connect to the device’s operating system or credit card data. Where Apple Pay differs is that it adds an extra layer of security in the form of biometrics. As part of the transaction process, users are required to scan their fingerprint to validate a payment. These extra security measures can be particularly valuable not only in protecting personal information but company information that’s stored on a device. With bring your own device (BYOD) policies growing in number, people are using personal devices for their jobs, which usually results in data from their organization ending up on their smartphone. Apple Pay’s added security is a welcome sight for companies that use BYOD.
Just Starting
That’s only scratching the surface of the differences between Apple Pay and other services out there. More difference will likely come to light as people become more familiar with Apple Pay and its features. Even so, availability, privacy, and security remain very important characteristics that consumers would like to know about, and the differences between the competitors are clear. With the right information in hand, consumers will be able to make an informed decision on what’s best for them.