How to pay with your smartphone without Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Google Wallet
Before you run out
to get a new phone with mobile payment capabilities, check out these
three apps that let you pay with the phone you have right now, no NFC
required.
With Apple Pay gaining steam and Samsung releasing its own system at Mobile World Congress 2015, called Samsung Pay,
mobile payments getting mainstream. In the coming years I'm betting
that nearly every phone will let you quickly check out without grabbing
for your wallet.
But even though we have Google Wallet, Apple Pay
and, soon, Samsung Pay, there are still many phones lacking NFC and the
other internal tech that makes mobile payments possible. If that's the
case with your smartphone, you don't need to upgrade to make payments on
the fly. I've rounded up three lower-tech apps can still help you foot
the bill.
A few limitations
Just a caveat before we
get started: Many merchants still do not accept mobile payments. With
PayPal, LevelUp and Square Order, you're limited by where you can use
them. You'll want to check out the businesses in your area to see if
they use these apps for payments.
Google Wallet and Apple Pay
are both more widely accepted, but we are still years away from mobile
payments in all major stores, if we ever get there at all. If paying
with your phone is very important to you, check out which merchants
accept mobile payments before you upgrade your phone. Apple has a list
of stores that accept Apple Pay, and if you have an Android phone with NFC, you can use Google Wallet anywhere MasterCard PayPass is accepted. For more in-depth analysis, check out
Finally, these apps are for paying merchants, like the coffee shop
around the corner or your local big-box store. If you want to pay back
your friends or family, we've got a roundup of apps that can send money.
Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET
PayPal
Free, iOS, Android and Windows Phone
Love it or hate it, PayPal is a huge player in online payments and in recent years, it's been working on mobile payments, too. The company's app lets you pay from your phone at local merchants and some national chains as well.
To use the app, you'll first need to choose the merchant where you
want to pay. Then, you'll use the slider to "check in" at the business
and authorize the app to make a payment for you. When you're ready to
check out, you tell the cashier that you're using PayPal and they'll see
your profile popup in their PayPal system. From there, they can process
the payment without you needing to pull out your wallet or phone.
For some larger merchants, such as Home Depot and Office Depot,
you'll need to create a PIN that you'll enter along with your mobile
number to pay. Also, some restaurants that accept PayPal only allow you
to order food in advance for pickup and delivery. Many local restaurants
use that feature, but you'll also see it at chains such as Quiznos,
Subway and Johnny Rockets.
I've used the app at a music
festival to pay for lunch and, separately, to order sushi for delivery,
and both experiences were seamless. The downside of PayPal is that
you'll need to have a data or Wi-Fi signal to pay. Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET
LevelUp
Free, iOS, Android and Windows Phone
Popular with restaurants and cafes, LevelUp
uses a QR code to trigger a payment. When you open the app you'll see
your personal code prominently displayed, which you point at any LevelUp
scanner to make a purchase. That code changes depending on how much of a
tip you want to leave, which you pick at the bottom of the screen.
Unlike PayPal, you don't need to pick where you want to pay
beforehand, but you do need to know if the merchant accepts that form of
payment. You can either use the app to search for participating
businesses near you, or just look out for the LevelUp scanner near the
register.
As an added bonus, LevelUp also has a loyalty
program, where you can get free credits for being a repeat customer. The
app also has coupons and deals that you can save and then use
automatically when you check out. The downside here is that there aren't
many merchants using LevelUp, and you won't find it at major retailers.
Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET
Square Order
Free, iOS and Android
Square was one of the first companies to figure out mobile payments,
sans NFC. Its original Square Wallet app let you check into a store,
walk in and get what you want, then check out with the cashier tapping a
pop-up of your face from their Square Register app. Once you checked
in, you didn't need to touch your phone again to pay.
Unfortunately, Square pulled that app in 2014 and replaced it with Square Order,
an app the works roughly the same way, but with fewer features. Square
Order shows you menu items for businesses nearby that use Square for
payment processing. You can can order and pay for those items before you
arrive at the business and then simply pick them up when you arrive.
Square Order lets you browse merchants nearby that accept the app,
but you can't search, which is a big drawback. Whole Foods is one of the
bigger businesses that's partnered with Square, but you can only use
the app at the sandwich bar, not to purchase groceries. In San
Francisco, most of the businesses are local coffee shops and casual
eateries. It may not be the best option, but it's a good choice if you
frequent a business that uses Square and want to save time.
Here are 9 reasons why I say this: 1. Get a head start When you wake up at 5am, you start your day earlier than 99.9% of the world — hence giving you a head start in your day. This creates a feel-good factor, which, while psychological, creates a host of positive effects (especially for reasons #2 and #3 in the list). After all, a good start is half the battle won. It will motivate you to stay ahead so you can maintain or even widen the lead. For example, my modus operandi when I wake up early is to work on the high-impact tasks right away, as opposed to the small, easy but unimportant tasks. I will also think and work effectively, and strive to end my day earlier so that I can have an early sleep, wake up early the next day, and continue my “head start.” On the whole, I’d say that I’m more forward thinking and proactive in managing my tasks — since I have a head start in my day, I naturally think about how I can be ahead in my work too. On the other hand, when I wake up ...
A Twitter account in the hands of a hothead startup founder can be a dangerous thing. The New York Times ran a piece Sunday looking into why a 62-year-old pill saw its price skyrocket from $13.50 to nearly $750 after it was acquired by Turing Pharmaceuticals last month. The increase in the price of Daraprim, a drug that the Times reported “is the standard of care for treating a life-threatening parasitic infection,” will undoubtedly have a major impact on those struggling to keep up with high prescription drug costs. The article continued: Dr. Aberg of Mount Sinai said some hospitals will now find Daraprim too expensive to keep in stock, possibly resulting in treatment delays. She said that Mount Sinai was continuing to use the drug, but each use now required a special review. “This seems to be all profit-driven for somebody,” Dr. Aberg said, “and I just think it’s a very dangerous process.” It was apparent that the news regarding Daraprim ...
Hate your finicky Wi-Fi router? Google does too, apparently. Google announced Tuesday that it's making a Wi-Fi router called OnHub, which is designed to alleviate the typical frustrations of buggy routers. It is partnering with TP-Link for the $199 router, available for immediate preorder. Google's preorder page already lists it as out of stock. In terms of design, the OnHub doesn't really look like any router before it. It eschews the usual antennas, wires and blinking lights for a large cylindrical shape with just one large light at the top. Google's cylindrical OnHub router. IMAGE: GOOGLE Google thinks there are benefits to this design: In its announcement post, it explains many people keep unsightly routers hidden away under desks and behind TVs where they don't work as well. If the router is more pleasing to the eye, Google says, people will be more likely to keep it out in the open. A win-win. Within the cy...
Comments
Post a Comment