5 Best Mobile Digital Wallets for Faster, Easier, and Safer Transactions
Johnny Lee
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Nowadays, we find ourselves carrying cash less and less because we can easily purchase stuff with payment cards, and track our spending online. What’s more, it’s more secure than carrying $300 to buy the latest gadgets. Also, there are some payment and loyalty cards that let you earn rewards or entries to contests, but they do add up. They make your wallet unnecessarily thick and heavy. Maybe it’s time for you to swap the system again; this time, for something that you’ve always been carrying around: your smartphone!
Digital wallets can help take you there. They’re mobile apps that hold your payment and loyalty card information. There are plenty of other digital wallets that carry perks and benefits that you may prefer, and these are 5 of the best of them.
Enjoy!
PayPal
PayPal is a famous service that can send money between other PayPal users. It’s available for both iOS and Android, and you can easily send money to other users just like you would on the PayPal website. It also allows you to view your past transactions in detail. Now, PayPal is entering mobile payments via a card reader with the PayPal Here app, but at present, it’s still in the ‘Invitation Only’ stages of testing.
Google Wallet
Instead of tapping your credit card on the NFC machine at the checkout counter, all you need to do is to wave your smartphone or tap it on the machine to make your payments. It will be able to identify the credit card information linked on your Google account. For this to work, Google Wallet requires Near Field Communication (NFC) technology available, which unfortunately is only available on certain smartphones and tablets. You then link your credit/debit card to your Google account and you can just leave your wallet at home. At the moment, it only works with smartphones and credit cards from the US and only in the US. It currently supports more than 20 land-based and online merchants, promising more merchants to come.
Isis
This digital wallet comes with its own cash card which is preloaded with $10 to help you start spending. It works with an NFC-enabled Android smartphone and allows you to manage your coupons, loyalty cards, and redeem offers from merchants. The wallet is also PIN-protected and you can remote freeze your wallet and wireless connection if it gets stolen. You can call to reactivate it if your smartphone gets recovered. It’s also protected by a special chip called Secure Element which prevents your cards from being counterfeited. At present, it only accepts 3 payment cards and can be used in a few stores in Salt Lake City and Austin in the US.
Apple’s Passbook
Apple’s Passbook has been around since iOS 6 and relies on scanning 2D barcodes to help you manage your movie, concert, and airline tickets, as well as loyalty cards and coupons for selected merchants. The result: you get location and time-based notifications when you’re near a café where you can use your loyalty card or when your airline, movie or concert ticket is nearing its due date. Add passes through apps that support Passbook. Instead of bringing your grocery coupons and stack of loyalty cards whenever you go shopping, you can just store it in Passbook. Unlike Google Wallet, you can’t use your credit or debit card for in-store purchases, although you can use BillGuard to view your bank balance and other related information on your iPhone.
Square Wallet
Available on iOS and Android, Square Wallet links your credit card to the app, but instead of paying directly with the credit card, it requires the use of merchant cards which is why it works only with their list of merchants. Because it’s location-based, the store knows you’re ordering something and will charge it to the card linked on your Square account. It features Hands-Free Checkout as well where you ‘Favorite’ the merchant and all you have to do is to say your name at checkout. As you visit these stores, you can also earn rewards and discounts on your next visit. You can also purchase in-store gift vouchers to be sent to other Square users.
