Android Pay: Things to know

Smartphones have quickly embedded themselves into our lives. In a few years, they have progressed from being a minor blip on the innovative aspect to being the dominant force around which entire diverse business domains operate. With creative start-ups receiving good funding by top venture capitalist mobile app industry is among the fastest-growing area with a remarkable increase in the demand for facilitating transactions over the mobile.

Just take an example of the mobile payment industry. It is forecasted that by 2019 Mobile Payments transactions will be over $800 billion, mostly lead by Apple Pay & Android Pay. Interestingly by 2019 in the United States alone, there will be more than 65% of people who will make payment via mobile phone atleast once a year. Mobile payment allows the user to make their routine money transactions over their smartphones. There are three different types of mobile payment systems:

1. SMS Payments
2. NFC (Near Field Communication) Payments
3. WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) Payments

As per recent report from Capgemini, there has been significant disruption as well as growth in the mobile payment industry lead by non-banking technology giants like Apple, Facebook, Google & Amazon. There have also been some interesting non-banking start-ups like Ripple, Chain which is adding value into the same domain.

Android Pay is a digital wallet platform created by Google. It was launched back in September 2015 & works with Visa, MasterCard, and American Express as well as supported by over 102 banks and credit unions. Post launch, it was acquired by more than 700,000 retail outlets, it has been bought into retailers shop, mobile carriers, and various other payment networks. Android Pay is a contactless, touch and pays payment system that gives you a facility to purchase goods and services by tapping your Android Smartphone at the subscribed retail outlet.

The core technology behind Android Pay is Near Field Communication (NFC) which enables contactless payment method. For making a payment through Android pay, you simply need to unlock your phone, place it near a vendor’s contactless terminal, and you’re good to go. You don’t even need to open an app – simply tap and go. Moreover, you will receive the payment confirmation as well as other transaction details right on your phone.

Some Facts You Need To Know About Android Pay

Tokenization

Whenever you buy something, a “token” is created, which replaces your original credit card number with a one-time-use 16-digit number. That means, if there was ever a credit card data breach and your transaction data was exposed, your real account number would be safe & secure. If you’re not using the Internet and need to use Android Pay, the app will tap into a few tokens which are stored over your device. As Android Pay tokens are generated in the cloud.

Rewards

Android Pay gives customers the opportunity to collect rewards for purchases. Some retailers support loyalty rewards tracking inside Android Pay so that when customers are paying for something then they’ll receive some rewards at the same time.

Use To Pay With-In Apps

Android Pay isn’t just for buying things at brick-and-mortar stores. You will also be able to use it to purchase products within apps by using Android Pay button. For those who don’t like to repeatedly enter the details like password, an expiry date, or CVV number while they want to buy something then, this feature will be a relief.

Does Not Require a Fingerprint Scan

You won’t even need your fingerprint scan to make use of Android Pay. Android Pay accepts a PIN code, password, or pattern to authenticate a transaction. To make a purchase, you just tap your phone on the payment terminal, enter a passcode, and the transaction is complete.

Availability

Android Pay was initially launched in United States only. It was only in 2016 that the United Kingdom became 2nd country after the US where Android Pay was introduced, followed by Singapore in June 2016.

Mobile app payment options are continuing to expand across the globe as it solves one of the biggest challenges for shopping over mobile devices. Companies like Star bucks are coming up with their own innovate QR code based payment solutions. Such advancements are making it easier for the user to purchase products and services over mobile. Integrating the payment method into your mobile app plays a crucial role in the success of your application while proving its worth to the business owners. With Android pay, Mobile App developers will not only get the benefit of developing a faster checkout but also a platform that can be leveraged upon to bring creative mobile app development ideas into reality.