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Slashdot Asks: Which Mobile Payment Service Is Best For You? (qz.com) 211

Everyone has a smartphone these days, therefore everyone should have access to at least one mobile payment service -- Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay. Personally, I've only used Apple Pay a handful of times because the vast majority of stores I visit don't support it. For me, the biggest problem with mobile payment services like Apple Pay and Google Pay isn't the potential security concerns or inconveniences (having to pull my phone out of my pocket or requiring the merchant to pull out an NFC reader while in a drive-thru) -- it's the lack of compatibility. I want to be able to leave my wallet at home and do all of my shopping with my phone, which is not possible due to the lack of support at most retailers. With that said, the support is improving. Today, Apple announced that Apple Pay is now available at 74 of the top 100 U.S. retailers. Quartz reports: Today (Jan. 22), Apple announced that it has also signed up Taco Bell and Target -- two years ago, Target said it had no plans to adopt Apple Pay -- meaning that 74 of the top 100 U.S. retailers by revenue now accept Apple's digital payment. The company added pharmacy chain CVS, along with 7-Eleven, late last year. They joined other major US retailers that include Best Buy, Starbucks, McDonald's, Walgreens, Costco, and Kohl's. (Some of the biggest holdouts: Walmart and Home Depot.) Do you use mobile payment services? Which service(s) do you use and why?
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Slashdot Asks: Which Mobile Payment Service Is Best For You?

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  • by bernywork ( 57298 ) <.bstapleton. .at. .gmail.com.> on Tuesday January 22, 2019 @07:50PM (#58004612) Journal

    That shit doesn't work?

    Isn't Apple / Google / Samsung pay ubiquitous over there?

    In Aus even our own banks offer their own apps on devices with NFC in case you don't want to use apple / google / samsung, and they work *everywhere*. Everyone pays on card these days because it's free.

    What's the hold up with the deployment?

    Hang on, you guys don't even have chip and pin everywhere yet do you...

    • by shilly ( 142940 )

      Articles like this remind me of just how weird the US is compared to the rest of the West. And not in a good way. See also: government shutdown.

      • by mentil ( 1748130 )

        You think American payment systems are weird? Japan shuts down their ATMs when their banks close for the day. They have metallic shutters that close over them so you can't access the controls. Tons of stuff is cash-only, as well, so if you need to pay for stuff when the banks are closed you're SOL.

    • Isn't Apple / Google / Samsung pay ubiquitous over there?

      No, in part because there was a consortium of companies (including Target and CVS) that wanted to promote some completely different standard... so NFC readers are slower to work down into retail than they should have been.

      That side effort utterly failed...

      • so NFC readers are slower to work down into retail

        You don't need NFC. Most cashless transactions around the world are done with an app that scans a barcode using your cellphone's camera.

        • by Strider- ( 39683 )

          Say what? I've never, ever seen that in europe or Canada, save for things like the Starbucks app (but then, it's a 2D barcode scanned at the store). It's all NFC/tap based, no different than the tap functionality built into your average EMV credit or debit card.

          • Say what? I've never, ever seen that in europe or Canada

            You should travel more widely. Most cashless transaction occur in Asia.

            China and SouthEast Asia use systems based on QR codes.

            China alone has more mobile transactions than the rest of the world combined

        • We had something like that here, called CurrenC, but it flopped. Mainly because it used ACH debits rather than credit card transactions, so if fraud did happen, the customer was stung with it, with no way to get anything back, as opposed to reversing charges with a credit card.

    • That shit doesn't work?

      Isn't Apple / Google / Samsung pay ubiquitous over there?

      In Aus even our own banks offer their own apps on devices with NFC in case you don't want to use apple / google / samsung, and they work *everywhere*. Everyone pays on card these days because it's free.

      What's the hold up with the deployment?

      Hang on, you guys don't even have chip and pin everywhere yet do you...

      Don't worry, cash still works over here just fine.

    • Re:Hang on.... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by cas2000 ( 148703 ) on Tuesday January 22, 2019 @09:48PM (#58005234)

      I'm in .au too and I don't use any phone-based payment. WON'T use them.

      Only a complete fucking moron thinks it's OK to let a device as easily hacked, infected with malware from the appstore, and/or stolen as a mobile phone to have access to their bank accounts.

      Only a fucking cretin thinks it's a good idea to let Google or Apple or Samsung, etc have access to your bank account or credit card.

      BTW, they're not free. You're paying with your privacy and anonymity. You're paying with reduced security and increased hassle. You're paying with the risk of fraud and theft being forced onto you rather than the financial institution. You're paying with the difficulty of spotting fraudulent transactions (with business names on the line-items that have little or no relationship to the name of any shop you buy stuff in) buried amongst hundreds of other small transaction.

      I also refuse to use the paypass/paywave/RFID anti-feature of any debit or credit card as a matter of principle because not only did my bank refuse to give me a card without it (and refuse to change the unauthorised transaction limit from $100 to $0 or anything else), not one bank in the fucking country offers it - apparently both Mastercard and Visa require it.

      Fuck the so-called "convenience" - entering a PIN when buying something isn't even slightly difficult and is essential for security if my card ever gets lost or stolen (and fuck the bank's promise to pay back any theft - I might end up getting most or even all of my money back but they won't compensate for the months of arguing with the bank before that happens).

      And there's no fucking way I'm installing any app from any corporation on my phone - certainly not an app from my bank who has no need or right to spy on me 24/7. I won't even give them my phone number (I don't give out my phone number to ANY company unless it's absolutely unavoidable and *I* both see a need for it AND decide it's worth the risk. I get very little SMS spam. These facts are not unrelated.)

      "chip and PIN" cards are OK. not perfect, there's room for improvement, but they at least have the essential feature of **requiring** the user to authorise every transaction before it takes place.

      • Re: Hang on.... (Score:2, Informative)

        by GrahamJ ( 241784 )

        Also, get off his lawn!

        Apple Pay is more secure and private than using a credit card because the merchant receives a random card number. If you're not using it, you're handing over valuable information about yourself every time you pay with a credit card and they sell that to aggregators. So do Visa and your bank btw.

        Most of that rant sounds like that of someone who doesn't understand what's going on under the covers. Unless you're living in the dark ages and paying with cash for ev

        • Apple Pay is more secure and private than using a credit card because the merchant receives a random card number.

          Apples own documentation clearly states sellers are given the phones unique device account number.

          https://support.apple.com/en-u... [apple.com]

          Most of that rant sounds like that of someone who doesn't understand what's going on under the covers.

          Including yourself apparently.

          Unless you're living in the dark ages and paying with cash for everything, you're actually safer and more private with Apple Pay.

          Actually what's safer is not brandishing Apple smart phone/watch in public everywhere you go. Look at me I'm carrying expensive shit. No thanks some of us have more sense than that.

          • See anonymous reply. The DAN cannot be used by an aggregator to uniquely identify you. Your card number can.

            • See anonymous reply. The DAN cannot be used by an aggregator to uniquely identify you. Your card number can.

              If all the seller got was as you incorrectly asserted "a random card number" it would be an entirely different matter.

              Equating a unique identifier sent to everyone you've ever bought anything from using Apple pay service with privacy is simply not credible. It's no different than NSA saying they only get phone numbers not names and addresses. Functionally in the age of mass re-identification it's a totally meaningless distinction.

              • The number used is different for each merchant and will not correspond with aggregated purchase data. It is random from the perspective of the merchant because it is hashed from data unavailable to the merchant.

                Deanonymisation requires correlation.

        • by cas2000 ( 148703 )

          I pay cash for almost everything and I don't give a fuck if you personally believe Apple Pay is more secure or more private because:

          0. you're a fucking idiot. This is proven beyond any doubt by your faith in Apple Pay's "security" and "privacy".

          1. I'm never going to own an Apple spy-phone.

          I won't even use an Android phone or tablet unless it's been wiped and re-flashed with an AOSP-based ROM that uses micro-G and no-gapps instead of google spyware....and even then, I'll never use it with or for anything se

          • Wow, calm down. I did say unless you use cash; obviously that is the most private option. Not necessarily less secure though, if you include physical security.

            Look, obviously youâ(TM)re paranoid so by all means, continue believing whatever you want to believe. But Apple Pay *is* more secure than using a credit card directly. Yes, Visa and your bank still see the transactions. duh. But the merchant doesnâ(TM)t get your card number so that is a big security improvement.

            If you believe Appleâ(TM)

            • If you believe AppleÃ(TM)s Ãoespyingà (whatever that means) decreases transaction security, please, tell us how.

              It decreases security because there are more hands in the pot. Not only does the secrets comprising the underlying card still need to be guarded so does the account / device itself. More to go wrong, more opportunities for data collection and systems compromise.

              The future of payment systems isn't layering one disaster (credit cards) upon another (hardware tied vendor specific proprietary payment schemes) ... the future is in systems like SWIFT's RT-RPS.

              And please show proof that any Apple Pay user has ever been compromised as a result of using it.

              https://www.theverge.com/2018/... [theverge.com]

              • Layering increases security, not decreases. Credit card secrets is a contradiction of terms. The only thing between thieves and your account is numbers printed on a piece of plastic. A piece of plastic thatâ(TM)s sent via snail mail, and can be dropped, stolen, skimmed or photographed. Iâ(TM)ll trust an Apple datacenter over that anyday. Sure there are other payment systems but none with anywhere near the convenience, and thus userbase, as Apple Pay.

                Did you read the link you posted? It has nothing

      • All right, have a beer and go right back to bed. It's a been a stressful day for you.

      • Ok, we get it. You don't understand how technology works. It's all "black magic" to you. You don't like the fact that the world is changing because the majority of us are OK with this stuff.

        There is no reason to call the rest of us "fucking morons" and "fucking cretins". No reason to be modded up.

        Do I care if certain parties have access to my checking account that has very little funds? No. I have other accounts with low exposure where I actually keep my money.

        Do I care if certain vendors have my CC info

      • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        Only a complete fucking moron thinks it's OK to let a device as easily hacked, infected with malware from the appstore, and/or stolen as a mobile phone to have access to their bank accounts.

        Isn't it safer to carry your phone, protected by a password or biometrics, than a wallet which contains payment cards that only need to be touched to a reader to spend your money? Or actual cash?

        By the way, I assume you are basing this claim on a large number of actual incidents of people's phones being hacked and the hackers accessing their bank accounts, so would you mind sharing them with us?

        • by cas2000 ( 148703 )

          > Isn't it safer to carry your phone, protected by a password or biometrics

          No.

          Phones are not secure, especially not when someone has physical access to the device. and biometrics would be a laughable joke, security-wise, if they weren't a method for corporations to gather finger-print, retina, etc data from their customers. Ooops, did I say "customers"? I meant "their products".

          > than a wallet which contains payment cards that only need to be touched to a reader to spend your money? Or actual cash?

          I

          • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

            What is your threat model where someone steals your phone and has the technical ability to bypass the security on it?

    • I never used Apple Pay until I activated it about 3 days before a trip to the Netherlands, and it worked almost everywhere there. I ran into about 3 places where the staff apologized for having antiquated terminals that required a physical card.

      Back in the US, I'm shocked at how few places I can use ApplePay because the terminals have zero NFC support. I feel like vending machines are doing a better job of supporting it than retailers.

  • None of the Above (Score:5, Insightful)

    by EndlessNameless ( 673105 ) on Tuesday January 22, 2019 @07:55PM (#58004644)

    Those fleas have sucked enough of my personal data. They already know (or can guess) where I shop. They don't need specifics.

    • This is what I came to post.

      I grab my fucking wallet and stick the card in. My goddam Fitbit gives me a one step credit.

      • by rtb61 ( 674572 )

        Yeah, well I will continue to use my preferred mobile payment system, bloody cash, done and finished. Imagine giving corporations who retain the right to censor all us, the ability to censor our payments for anything. You can imagine a Google payment system dickbrain coming out and saying, "We don't agree with the statements made by all the members of the Green Party, as we don't agree with those statements, we will be cutting off all electronic payment systems to those people's seconds latter the announcem

    • by Falos ( 2905315 )

      posting to unmod

      why the FUCK does a mod submit if I press the down arrow key?

  • by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) on Tuesday January 22, 2019 @07:56PM (#58004646)

    I think the question seems a little strange as if you have an iPhone you'd be using Apple Pay, otherwise some Google variant.

    But personally I really like Apple Pay, because it's easy to set up, use, and I feel is really secure.

    Great news too is that soon (if not now?) ApplePay support is coming to Target [apple.com] and some other places - Target was one of the last big holdouts of places I go.

    Note that Target will also finally be supporting Google Pay and Android Pay as well, so we ALL win here!!

    Another thing I will say in favoritisms of Apple Pay is that Apple Pay over the web works really well and I use it if at all possible (it uses your device to authorize payment).

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      I've also had good experience with Apple Pay as an apple device user.

      The whole saga of contactless payments reminds me of the emergence of the smartphone market. At first there were a lot of players, but what sticks out the most is the carriers tried their hardest to wedge themselves in as the payment provider. They REALLY wanted to to be in the loop - going as far as to disable or block contactless payment hardware on android phones they sold to their customers.

      Then Apple comes along and suddenly they're t

      • by Strider- ( 39683 )

        The thing is that Apple just supports the standard. The standard way that any other tap-to-pay EMV card communicates with the reader. The rest of the world has had this functionality for a good 4 to 5 years. yeah, stores advertise they accept Apple Pay, but as long as they support tap on their terminals, they support it because there is no difference.

        The only difference is that when you add your card to your phone, it generates a new, device specific credit card number that can only be used by that device,

        • As long as they support tap on their terminals, they support it because there is no difference.

          That's not exactly right - due to the whole consortium that kept Target from using ApplePay, some vendors that had tap to pay systems explicitly blocked ApplePay. I encountered it a few times (not the case anymore).

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      On Android you can use any payment app you like, it doesn't have to be Google Pay. Many banks offer their own.

    • by mjwx ( 966435 )

      I think the question seems a little strange as if you have an iPhone you'd be using Apple Pay, otherwise some Google variant.

      My answer is none of the above.

      I'm squarely in the Android camp... But not a fanboy, my last phone was Android, my current phone is Android but my next phone will be Android unless something better comes along (unlikely, but I'm open to the possibility). I'm still not going to use Google pay.

      My issue with all of these services is that they add additional parties, additional complexity and additional cost without adding any benefit to me or the merchant. My cards work fine, cash works even better. Give

      • My cards work fine, cash works even better

        My card worked fine at Five Guys. And then it also worked fine for the guy at Five Guys that stole my number...

        I use cash sometimes also, but you don't want to have to carry a ton of cash around, and credit cards give rewards. Presently you are paying for those rewards anyway through higher merchandise prices, no matter if you use cash or not - so why not use a card and get in on that?

        Using Apple Pay when I can, means I do not have to worry about my number being s

  • Preferred form... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Pollux ( 102520 ) <speter@[ ]ata.net.eg ['ted' in gap]> on Tuesday January 22, 2019 @07:58PM (#58004656) Journal

    Everyone has a smartphone these days

    Speak for yourself. I use a flip phone.

    Which Mobile Payment Service Is Best For You?

    It's called cash. It goes with me, so it's perfectly mobile. But it doesn't allow big corp to gather data on my every purchase and use it to their own advantages.

  • What does mobile payments provide to me that cash or card does not?

    • What does mobile payments provide to me that cash or card does not?

      Your cash and credit card can get lost or stolen and then be used by whoever finds it. This won't happen with, for example, Apple Pay if you lose your iPhone. So I suppose the answer would be security.

    • What does mobile payments provide to me that cash or card does not?

      3FA instead of 1FA. To make a payment with my phone requires:

      1. Physical possession of my phone
      2. My fingerprint to login to the phone
      3. My 4 digit PIN to authorize the transaction.

      To use cash or CC (at least in America) requires:

      1. Physical possession of the cash or card.

      Cash theft is a big problem. Credit card fraud is common. Mobile payment fraud is nonexistent.

    • by Misagon ( 1135 )

      The mobile payment providers are not actively trying to subvert and make it harder for you to use cash.

  • by ffkom ( 3519199 ) on Tuesday January 22, 2019 @08:19PM (#58004744)
    No tracking and profiling by data greedy corporations, no transaction fees, no "oops our card reader just malfunctions", and most importantly: I can give and take cash to/from whoever I want, without some corporation deciding if that person or me are deemed worthy their services.
  • Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay.

    They're all compatible with VISA Paywave terminals aren't they?

  • Unless it's an online purchase, good old-fashioned, cold, hard cash. If I like my privacy, I can keep it :)
    • And if you wallet gets stolen then your money is gone.
      For credit you can dispute frodulant charges.
      Besides your privacy with face tracking is just as bad as with a card.

  • The link for the security concerns doesn’t really apply to Apple Pay.
    And for the most part it is more secure then you credit card or a chip card. Because Apple Pay normally requires a form of authentication. Passkey or more common biometrics.
    In terms of compatibility you don’t look for the Apple Pay logo you look for the fact the card reader accepts proximity cards.

    I am able to do my Saturday chores which include. Gas, Petstore, and grocery store all with My phone. I carry my wallet mostly beca

  • It's totally emosewa.

    I don't know how they managed to do this yet the payment "app" actually still works even when battery on your phone runs dead or you *gasp* decided not to bring it with you.

    The full value of each transaction is always transferred to the intended party without value needlessly being diverted to coffers of money changers.

    Also transactions are inherently untraceable. If I buy something the seller can't use HSAC payment app to fingerprint me or otherwise obtain my identity so they can cons

  • by cas2000 ( 148703 ) on Tuesday January 22, 2019 @09:20PM (#58005072)

    None of them are good for YOU.

    They're just another tool to turn you and your life into saleable product, and to skim a percentage from every single thing you buy.

    Now that that question has been answered, we can move onto something far more useful and interesting:

    Every employer has given free cyanide candy to every employee over 50. Which flavour is best for you, and which colour is prettiest?

  • I don't keep access to my money on my phone.
  • The security of hardware-tokenized smartphone payment systems is in the hardware, not the operating system. Software gets a one-time-use token, not your credit card number.

    And why should I care that I'm being "tracked," meaning that advertisers are given data on how many people shop for pineapples on Tuesdays at my local market? Knowing who shops for what has been the age-old concern of every commercial trader forever.

  • I don't really understand the point of these services. Why not just use your contactless card?

    • by Strider- ( 39683 )

      That's exactly what Apple Pay does, except that you don't have to carry your card, your phone acts as a contactless card (of your choosing).

      The bit of support that is needed is integration with your bank, as when you add your card to your phone, the system generates a new card number that is unique to the device, and which can not be used for other types of transactions. This makes it somewhat more secure than using the card itself, as your actual credit card is never hitting the air.

    • No more wallet! I have 2 debit cards (personnal and shared account), 2 credit cards (one in $CAD one in $US) they all are in my GooglePay, as well as my Airmiles card and others rewards card. I bought a flip case where I can put my driving license, and I have no more wallet, only my phone.

  • I have a wallet cover for my phone and my credit card is in it. The card allows contact-less payments so I just swipe my wallet-phone at the terminal and I walk if it's below 25€, if above I enter my pin.
    I don't have to open the wallet and it works even if the phone is dead.

  • As a long time Apple Pay user, I am a bit confused : as soon as Apple Pay had been supported by my credit card provider, and configured my iPhone and it worked at once on any terminal supporting NFC.

    And not only did it work in my country (Switzerland), it worked all over Europe, including in countries where Apple Pay was NOT available. Hence, my understanding is that terminals don't explicitly need to support Apple Pay, they need to support NFC. Apple is should be transparent to the terminal.

    Is it dif
    • by Tomahawk ( 1343 )

      Many places in the USA still ask you to swipe your credit card and sign...!!! They don't even have chip and pin, let alone tap.

  • Here in Ireland I find that I can use Google Pay in the vast majority of places. Basically anywhere that accepts tap with a credit card will also accept Google Pay and Apple Pay (I don't know about Samsung Pay, but I don't know of any bank offering that on their cards).

    The compatibility here seems to be whether the banks offer it, not whether the shops accept it.

    I only know of 2 shops where I haven't been able to use it: IKEA, which only accepts payments up to 30 Euro with tap of any kind, and a local har

  • Apple Pay? Google Pay? Samsung Pay? Are they your banks?
    Android's NFC API directly interfaces with payment software. Why would you put yet another 3rd party in between you and your banking app?

    So what service do I use? The Wallet app provided by my bank. Works anywhere my card does, has independent limits and security handled by my bank.

  • I'm in Canada and for ~2 years now I pay everywhere with my phone... first it was with my zenfone2 and now my nokia, anyway before that I tapped my card on the paypass terminal.

    I pay with my phone for my gas, various groceries, various generic noname dollar store, fruit/vegetable corner store, canadian tire, dollarama, costco, etc, everywhere!

    The 2 only stores I found in 2 years that do not accept NFC payment are: Walmart, Michaels.

    Also I often go in the USA, last time I paid with my phone in a CVS, the cas

    • in a CVS, the cashier was speechless and didn't understand what happenend.

      That's what years of retail will do to you.

      family dollar, the cashier did an instant barbarian move when I paid with my phone...

      That's what years of Family Dollar will do to you.... :(

      On a more serious note - I do feel surprised at the number of people in here saying they are in America and almost no place they go to uses _____ Pay, NFC, or chips. I don't shop often, but when I do I've seen most or all of those options at all the places I go. Even if I'm just going to a small stand at a farmer's market.

  • Question is fairly USA-centric.

    Elsewhere banks introduce their own payment systems (working within the country), apparently to avoid paying fees for Visa/Mastercard/Google/Apple/Paypal processing.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
    https://www.finextra.com/press... [finextra.com]

  • by Necron69 ( 35644 )

    Mobile payments are a solution in search of a problem. I tried Google pay once for the novelty, and never used it again.

    - Necron69

  • Everyone has a smartphone these days, therefore everyone should have access to at least one mobile payment service -- Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay.

    Nope. My Android phone doesn't have NFC.

  • I like _how_ Apple Pay ( ApplePay.com) works without exchanging user data.
    I like Apple products
    I like Apple core technologies, API's and services.

    I do NOT like Apple Pay dropping email bombs with each purchase ( as if they've brokered the receipt too). Apple Pay by definition is a payment platform. AAPL hasn't figured that part out yet. They would do well to spend big on bolting on a backend vendor to their Apple Pay technology. The leverage would yield EFT (i.e. BillPay, CheckPay), deposit and transfer

  • "Everyone has a smartphone these days, therefore everyone should have access to at least one mobile payment service"

    nope, i don't trust mobile payments at all and think nobody should be using them.
    they're running on an always connected device, known to have security issues because there are no updates anymore, loaded with apps that spy on you in the best case and drop malware and other unpleasantires in the worst case.

    tell me again why i would want to do anything money related on such a platform.

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