The Advantages and Disadvantages Of Using Apple Pay - Is It The Best Everyday Payment Solution For You To Be Using Everywhere Right Now?

With cashless transactions becoming the norm almost everywhere around the world, new payment options are emerging for consumers to choose from. Among the mobile wallet options, both Apple Pay and Google Pay are popular choices. They are easy to use and safer than carrying around credit cards.

Apple Pay: a ready wallet for iPhone users

Apple Pay is an easy payment mode available for iPhones running on iOS 10 or higher versions. It is also available for a few other iOS devices. This includes Apple Smart Watch and touch iPads like iPad Mini 3 and 4, iPad Pro and iPad Air 2.

Across the world, over 500 million people are already using Apple Pay. In Australia, there is a strong market for iPhones. Apple Pay is a leading mobile wallet here among the contactless payment options.

To get started, all you need to do is add the card to the wallet app. You can add up to 8 cards and switch between them easily. Apple Pay enables easy payments through NFC. It eliminates the need to carry around a wallet or physical cards or remember card numbers.

Apple Pay transactions are secure

Apple Pay offers fingerprint access and face recognition. Both are safer ways to make payments than PIN or password. Best of all, even if the phone is lost, the wallet is not accessible to strangers.

Unlike with credit or debit cards, no physical card number is shared with retail merchants. Better still, Apple does not store the card details on Apple servers. It does not tie transactions back to you, either, thus protecting your privacy and keeping you safe from hackers.

In a nutshell, Apple ensures safety through:

• Simple two-factor verification.
• NFC technology that allows only short-distance payment.
• No storage of credit/debit card/bank account number.
• iCloud security.
• All encrypted transactions are re-encrypted with a unique key before payment. This ensures no other app can access information other than the intended one. ‘
• Lost Mode’ to suspend Apple Pay in case the device is lost, with the option to re-enable payment once found.

The many benefits of using Apple Pay

Here are a few reasons why Apple Pay is popular:

• For a digital wallet to be popular, its reputation and ease of use are top factors. Apple Pay is easy to set up. It is a breeze to add debit cards, credit cards or bank accounts from all participating banks.
• It is free to use and does not charge any fee for transactions, irrespective of the amount involved.
• The Apple Wallet does more than securely store all your credit and debit cards. It is also handy for storing and accessing tickets, ID cards, boarding passes and car keys (for compatible models).
• Quick, one-tap payment option available in many online stores, retail shops, supermarket chains, restaurants and other shops and outlets.
• Pay for Apple Services or iCloud storage easily.

Apple Pay - ease of use and hassles

Apple Pay is the go-to cashless payment mode for iPhone users. It is the simple and easy way to pay while travelling even without your wallet. Listed below are a few pros and cons.

Pros:

• Quick and easy to use
• High level of security
• Easy to manage all tickets and cards with Apple Wallet
• No transaction fees
• Re-enable Apple Pay once lost device is recovered (unlike cards that have to be freshly issued once blocked)
• Easy to view all transactions in one place

Cons:

• Supported only on iPhones and Apple devices (unlike Google Pay)
• Reports of face recognition based payment being slightly trickier than in Android phones
• Transactions are not synced across devices

Dual network debit cards with Apple Pay

It is possible to make transactions using eligible dual-network debit cards on your iPhone or Apple Watch. This dual-network card helps you switch between payment modes like Visa and eftpos. After adding this card to Apple Pay, Visa is set as the default transaction mode. Opt for eftpos instead by changing it in your Apple device.

Visa is handy for transactions inside and outside of Australia as well as for online shopping. Depending on the bank, you can withdraw cash with an eligible Visa card and ‘eftpos CHQ’ or ‘eftpos SAV’ option.

If you would like to know about the pros and cons of using Google Pay, check out our blog about Gpay.