Feeling confused by the notion of paying for stuff with your mobile phone? We were too, so we did a little digging into this latest craze.
Apple Passbook and Samsung Wallet are apps that store all of your cards in one location, turning your phone into a single digital wallet. Pretty cool, right?
Say goodbye to the clutter of plastic! Passbook will store your loyalty cards and vouchers, which can also work with other apps on the iPhone.
The Samsung Wallet app lets owners store tickets, memberships and boarding passes on their devices. The idea is to bring an end to printing out gig tickets or rifling through purses to find the right membership card (we’ve all ashamedly held up a queue before). The app also has the handy ability to use push notifications, telling you when to use passes and tickets. That means your phone will bring up a boarding pass at the airport, with the app aware of the time and your location.
Like Passbook, it will store all of your cards in one location and will also offer time- and location-based push notifications to make it easy for you to access them.
Of course, it is also important to consider the security issues that come with mobile payment. While security concerns are being addressed rapidly, privacy advocates see no quick remedy for the potential misuse of the data tied to the spending patterns of individual shoppers. To stay safe, we recommend keeping your phone clean of personal data, such as address information and bank account information, being very careful not to provide personal information when downloading new apps from unknown sources, and being wary of using personal information when connected to the Internet over public Wi-Fi hotspots.
Phew, we think that’s cleared that one up. What do you think – fancy paying for your morning latte on your Smartphone?
