As a business, the number of payment options you offer to your customers can greatly determine your earning potential. With cash no longer the preferred method of carrying out financial transactions, your point-of-sale system better take every available platform, including mobile.
The new Android Pay platform is currently deployed at American Eagle outfitters, AT&T, Bloomingdale’s, Coca-Cola, Disney Store, Footlocker, Fuddruckers, Game Stop, Jamba Juice, JetBlue, Lego, Macy’s, McDonald’s, Nike, Panera, Pepsi, Sephora, T-Mobile, Whole Foods and over one million additional locations across the U.S.
What these companies have realized is, each opportunity for accepting payment from your customers has to be available in order to ensure no sale is ever missed. While the companies highlighted in the above example are globally recognized brands, their early adoption of the technology should be a lesson for small businesses.
If you are not using Android pay, your competition might be. And it could be the difference between registering a sale and having a customer walk out.
Using Android Pay is one of the more secure ways to pay for a product or service using an Android phone. The system works with all NFC-enabled Android devices running KitKat 4.4+ on any mobile carrier and every tap and pay ready location across the US. It accepts American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa: the biggest payment networks in the world.
Using Android Pay: Getting Started
First and foremost, your phone needs NFC and HCE support. Once you have verified the NFC and HCE support, open the app and follow the setup instructions. The first step is to use a screen lock on your device, because you will have to set it up to use Android Pay.
Next, add a payment card by opening the app and touching the + sign in the bottom-right corner, and then touch add a credit or debit card. You can use the camera to capture your card info, or enter it manually, and if you have cards already linked, choose your preferred card or add another one.
The first card you enter becomes the default card on your device, and it is what Android Pay uses to make payments. However, you can change it at any time.
The cards on your phone are assigned a virtual account number and they are used in place of the actual numbers on your card. This is one of the different levels of security Android Pay provides. By using the virtual number, the merchant never gets your payment information.
Another security protocol uses Android Device Manager to find, lock, or erase the data on the phone if it is lost or stolen. And because the actual information about your cards are not stored on the phone, no one can access it even if it is unlocked. The payment information is encrypted on secure servers.
Once it is all set up, whenever you want to make a purchase, all you have to do is wake up and unlock your phone, hold the back of your phone against the contact-less payment terminal and tap. If prompted, choose “Credit” no matter what kind of card you have. That is it.
It goes without saying that the business has to accept Android Pay.
The Android Pay system also stores thousands of gift cards and loyalty programs. All you have to do is use the same process to store them on your phone as you did your credit card.
The mobile payment platform is not a fad that will soon go out of favor. Businesses that don’t deploy these options as part of their POS system will be in the minority. And the available technology will guide customers to businesses that accept this type of payment, avoiding your establishment before they even walk through the front door.
Image: Android
Aira Bongco
They are now creating other payment systems. I guess this is good because it seems that PayPal has the stronghold of the online payment system. With this, customers will have more options. I am hoping for better customer service.