Android Pay has been making folks feel this way since September, depending on where you live.
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Android Pay users can start making mobile payments at more than 30,000 contactless payments readers in Singapore, be it shopping for groceries at Fairprice and Cold Storage supermarkets, catching a movie at Shaw theatres or grabbing a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Android Pay support revealed to have six banks of DBS Bank, POSB, United Overseas Bank (UOB), OCBC Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank.
“We wanted to ensure that Android Pay is the most secure payment system, so we adopted an industry-wide token system which means you don’t put your card in particular at risk”, replied Pali to these concerns.
However, like Apple Pay, Android Pay can only work with NFC payment terminals while Samsung Pay can work with both NFC and traditional magnetic-stripe payment terminals. But with Android Pay, you do not need the latest smartphone models.
Although a relatively small market, Singapore is a significant piece of the m-payments puzzle, on the back of a high penetration of mobile phones and one of the fastest 4G LTE networks in the world.
Android Pay turns your phone into a Google-powered wallet.
Channel NewsAsia tried the platform and besides the initial authentication to add a credit card into Android Pay, there was no need to authenticate again for individual transactions.
Beyond just paying for physical transactions, Android Pay can also be used for in app purchases/transactions. In contrast, users have to authenticate using the fingerprint sensor for every Apple Pay transaction.
“We are also working closely with leading loyalty programmes such as NTUC Link Plus!” From Jul 7 to Aug 3, consumers who pay with Google’s mobile payment system will receive S$2 off when they purchase a minimum of S$6 at McCafe, said Ms Tan Min Hui, director of information systems at McDonald’s. After the cards has been added, you will be able to set the default card as well as payment method settings on board. Android Pay’s software requirements are lower as well, supporting something as old as Android 4.4 KitKat.
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Its payment terminals are open to Samsung Pay and Apple Pay too, but there are no official tie-ups, she said.
