Android Pay is the new name for what was once known as Google Wallet. Now I’m really thankful that I never wrote about Google Wallet.
Before messing with Android Pay, I strongly recommend that you apply a secure password to your phone or tablet. That would be a password or PIN screen lock. If your device features thumbprint security, you can setup that option as well, but set a password or PIN as a backup.
When you first fire up the Android Pay app, you’ll see a list of the credit cards you’ve used in the Google Play Store to purchase music, books, apps and so on. To set up one of those credit cards with Android Pay, choose it from the list. Confirm the secret number on the back of the card, and set an Android Pay PIN, which is different from the screen lock PIN. You use the Android Pay PIN when you actually purchase something.
You can add more credit or debit cards to the Android Pay repository, if you like. If you’re nervous, just add your “loyalty” cards, which is a great way to test drive this payment feature.
It’s kind of cool to add a card as well: You just point the phone or tablet at the credit card and take a picture. Snap. That’s how it works. Clever.
The truly useful part of Android Pay comes when you actually pay for something.
You’ve seen the marketing: A trendy hipster, who looks like he doesn’t have a nickel to his name, walks up to the payment terminal at the Social Soviet Café, taps his phone to the terminal, smiles, and walks away because he is just too trendy to use cash. O, if real life were only so perfect.
First, not every location features tap-to-pay terminals. When Apple announced their version of Android Pay as a major iOS update, the list of participating vendors was woefully short. It’s still short, but you can see a list here (about halfway down the page). Or if you’re out and about, look for the Android Pay logo, shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. The Android Pay logo, found on payment terminals at a handful of merchants.
Second, to pay you don’t just tap your phone. That would be too easy — and too tempting for criminals. Instead, you unlock your phone. Tap the terminal, then type your Android Pay PIN. So you see, Mr. Hipster isn’t actually being so cool because he left out a few steps.
The best part comes last: You get email updates of payments made. You can also review purchase history in the Android Pay app, which saves having to keep receipts. Of course, Mr. Trendy-at-the-caf&eaccute; doesn’t save his receipts, so perhaps that’s not a benefit to the tragically hip.
