CAN I PAY FOR THAT WITH MY PHONE?

Three years ago Nick Bolton wrote about how his smartphone had practically replaced his wallet. He used a Starbucks app to pay for his coffee and Square to pay for food in restaurants. He used an Apple app to store boarding passes and movie tickets. He even used it to get into a baseball game.

Some mobile payment apps are linked to a specific business, like Starbucks. Others use NFC (Near Field Communication). You just touch the phone to a reader at the register. Still others use the phone’s QR reader to take a picture of the merchandise code. The account is linked to a credit card or checking account. This is then transmitted to a reader. Most of these systems do not access your actual account number, but a virtual number representing it. This way your credit card number is never in the merchant’s system, so it is safer.

A QR (quick response) code is a barcode arranged in a square grid on a white background.  If you take a picture of the code with your smartphone QR reader, it will open relevant information about the merchandise.

One of the best mobile pay services is Apple Pay. It has been around for about a year and a half. It uses NFC. The customer just taps the phone on the reader. The credit cards are stored on the phone  rather than on the reader at the merchant’s site. The store never gets the customer’s credit card number.

First when Apple Pay came out, some people had trouble using it. One customer wanted to pay for his lunch at McDonalds, which did accept Apple Pay, but the clerk didn’t understand it and told the customer he had to pay with a credit card or cash.

Another problem that Apple Pay had was resistance from several large companies. A lot of major retailers are building their own system (Current C), which they want to use. With their own system they will be able to reduce credit card fees. With Apple Pay, retailers will not get as much personal information about customers.

Current C has been described as clunky. Apple Pay the customers tap the reader with their phones. Current C customers scan the QR reader and then display it to cashier.

Retailers are beginning to realize that Apple Pay can bring them lots of business, so it is becoming more widely accepted. The shortcoming is that it works only on Apple phones, and only on new ones at that. However, there are all kinds of other choices: Samsung Pay, Android Pay, Google Wallet, Chase Pay, to name several.

There is a new one coming out, Wal-Mart Pay. It is available in some locations now and will be available nationwide by summer. Wal-Mart Pay will scan a unique QR code that will trigger the retailer’s app to process the payment.

All this sounds really nifty. Do you have your mobile payment app yet? No, neither do I. I might try it someday, but I’m not ready for it yet. For one thing there are too many. If I get the Starbucks app, will I be able to use it at Dunkin’ Donuts? Will the Wal-Mart app work at K-Mart or Sears? Just tapping my phone on a reader sounds easy enough, but scanning QR codes and displaying them on some kind of a reader doesn’t sound that convenient to me. It might be safer to use some of these apps rather than a credit card, but it sure doesn’t sound easier than just using a credit card.