Chris O'Shea
Mobile payment technology is here to stay. There are so many options from Apple Pay, Google Pay, and even Samsung has a payment app for your phone. Not to mention all the retailers — including CVS and Walmart — that have rolled out their own payment services. So, is using mobile payment services a good thing or a bad thing? Here are some thoughts.
The Good Things
We’ll help you weigh all the options to decide if or what mobile payments are best for your situation.
- Safety. Paying with a mobile payment system might actually be safer than using a credit card. Most of the payment apps create a unique barcode for each item that is purchased, rather than sending credit card numbers into the wild, where hackers can scoop them up.
- Security. If you’re thinking of using Apple Pay, for your security, it doesn’t store your credit card info at all.
- Creates a unique code that is linked to your plastic.
- When you swipe your phone, that code is used, but only for that transaction.
- You also have to use your fingerprint or Face ID to authorize the purchase.
- Ease of Use. Mobile payments are designed to simplify your life. They are very easy to use. Click, tap, swipe, and you’re done.
The Bad Things
With any new technology, there are good things and bad things.
- Hackers. While security is solid now, hackers are surely busy trying to find a way to crack the codes. This is the case with all digital-based financial services. There is no perfect system.
- Limited Availability. You may run into a situation where not all stores accept the same mobile payment system. For example, Apple Pay and Google Wallet are the most widely accepted, but the group of stores that have their own app will not take either of them.
- Too Easy to Use. There’s also the fact that using a phone to pay for items makes it easier to spend money. That’s usually not a good thing.
Do One Thing: If you find that you’re spending more money when using mobile payment systems, disconnect your cards from your phone to make it no longer possible.
