I hope you like the new site after the migration to GRAV. Learn more about it here.
I started this site back in 2014 in the hopes of sharing my experiences with paying with my smartphone with the world. Back then, things were substantially newer, and also substantially less reliable. Accurate information on what to do when things went wrong was scarce, and really only through trial and error was I able to find my way.
Gone are the days of ISIS/Softcard and Google Wallet (tear for the debit card) and the days of Apple, Android, Samsung and Everybody Pay are here. I hope this site provides you with some valuable info, tips and tricks to help you to join the community of people getting sideways glances when they try to pay with a device rather than plastic.
- Clarence, Lancaster PA
Honestly, I started paying with my smartphone (the HTC Droid DNA back in the day) just because I thought it was super fun. I've always enjoyed messing with the latest tech, including payment apps and gear. Before smartphone payments, I was one of the few people who would try to pay with tap-to-pay with the credit card when it was simpler to just swipe. Plus, I had this gigantic thick wallet that annoyed the hell out of me in one pocket, and the super svelte smartphone in the other pocket that I wish could do the job for both.
However, since then the reasons for paying with your phone have become more real, including the top two: Money & Security. As the developers of these wanted to lure early adopters to pay with their devices, the deals they created were incredible. From the initial 20% rebates from AMEX Serve/ISIS for just using their card, to the $5/$10 gift cards given by Samsung to be the first 100 users of the app on the hour, all the way to the current iteration of Samsung Pay Rewards, I figure I've made close to a thousand bucks just by paying with my phone.
And then there's security. I enjoy not having to even pull my wallet out of my pocket which not only obfuscates my payment information, but it also protects my idenity from the shoppers around me. Virtual card numbers make it so that the cashier never sees a reusable credit card. Fingerprints, PIN numbers, facial recognition and the like are required to even initiate a transaction, which is infinitely more secure than just swiping a card and signing a name that no one ever checks.
Finally, it comes back to that wallet. Now that I've whittled down the number of membership cards that I have to carry to one (Costco), and keep my credit cards accessible in Samsung Pay, my super slim Bellroy wallet makes me extremely happy compared to the brick of plastic and paper I used to carry along. Which, by the way, now that I've invested as much effort into slimming my wallet down with the help of mobile payment wallets, what do I carry?