Pay with your phone: best apps, how to use

Contactless payment is fast and convenient. In fact, there are several methods that allow you to pay in shops, restaurants and supermarkets directly with your smartphone. This way, any kind of contact with the merchant is avoided. The coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) has greatly increased this already strong growth trend during the last months of 2020. In this article we discuss how to pay with your smartphone, so if you want to find out, then keep reading.

How does the contactless smartphone payment work?

How to pay with your smartphone? In order to pay for your purchases with your smartphone, you will first need a phone that supports the NFC technology (it stands for Near-Field Communication, that is, contactless communication) and a dedicated application. Contactless payment can also be a feature of your credit card or debit card but, for details, we recommend that you ask your bank.

What is NFC technology?

As mentioned above, NFC is the English acronym for Near Field Communication. This is a technology that safely allows the exchange of data (in this case banking) over short distances, allowing communication between the smartphone associated with your account via the app and the POS (for Point Of Sale) of the business. where you want to pay. It goes without saying that both the phone and the POS must have integrated this functionality, otherwise contactless payment with smartphones is not possible.

Enabling NFC on your smartphone is very easy: just go to Settings, proceed to Connections, then select NFC and enable the slider of this feature or select ON.

Now that you know if your smartphone supports the NFC technology and that the feature is enabled, you have to install an application dedicated to payments to which you can associate your credit card, debit card or prepaid card. Now, let's see the best payment apps out there.

The best apps to pay with your smartphone

Google Pay

Combined with NFC technology, the Google Pay app allows you to pay in stores using an Android smartphone.

Once you download the app, you have to associate it with your credit card and make sure that Google Pay is the app used by default by the NFC service. You can associate your card through your computer or through the Google Pay website.

Apple Pay

For iPhone users, the payment app is called Apple Pay. But how to use Apple Pay? Simply configure the service by entering your card or ATM card details in the Wallet app on your device. The app works with both Face ID and fingerprint, but beware, not all cards are supported by the app.

Samsung Pay

What is Samsung Pay ? For those who have a Samsung smartphone or smartwatch, it is possible to pay via the Samsung Pay: it allows payments via both NFC and MST technology. As with the previous apps, once you install it, you have to register your card. A fingerprint, an iris scan or a pin are required. The app also allows you to manage the loyalty cards of shops and supermarkets.

Satispay

Satispay is an Italian and very simple to use money management app that is available for both Android and iOS. With this app you can pay with your smartphone without NFC, as it allows you to set a budget - ranging from €25 to €250 - directly from the bank account you have associated with the app. This way, you can pay in all associated shops (or even from home). The associated shops are visible under the Stores item on the app. Once you are in the shop, simply search for the merchant in the app, then specify the amount and press Submit.