Nearly a year after Apple Inc. let us pay for stuff with an iPhone, my wallet is getting as much of a workout as ever. It’s not my fault; I like Apple Pay, the system that lets you shop by tapping an iPhone 6 against a compatible payment terminal. But the majority of retailers still sport old-school terminals designed for a piece of magnetized plastic – terminals that don’t support Apple Pay.
That’s too bad for iPhone users, but a foot in the door for Apple’s megarival, Samsung Corp. That company’s newest phones include technology invented in Burlington that can electronically “swipe” data into a standard credit card reader, without the need of a card.
It’s called Samsung Pay. It works, and it’s cool, but ultimately, it’s a dead end. In a few years magnetic swipe machines will be gone, as Americans switch to chip-based plastic. When this happens, Samsung Pay’s current advantage over Apple Pay disappears.
Meanwhile, Google’s pushing its own mobile payments system, called Android Pay, that works pretty much anywhere that accepts Apple Pay. Android Pay won’t work on traditional magnetic-based terminals, but it’s compatible with nearly all late-model phones running Google’s Android software – LG, HTC, Sony . Even Samsung can play; I’ve got Android Pay and Samsung Pay side by side on my Galaxy S6.
One more thing – few of us apparently want to pay by phone, after all. Research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech recently surveyed 20,000 US consumers, including 3,800 owners of the iPhone 6, the first model capable of running Apple Pay. Only 13 percent of iPhone 6 owners were using Apple Pay; an additional 11 percent said they might give it a try. Put another way, three-quarters of iPhone owners aren’t interested. After all, Apple Pay is only slightly easier than using a traditional plastic card.
Apple Pay and Samsung Pay must be unlocked by the phone user’s fingerprint; Android Pay settles for a four-digit PIN number. This makes them more secure than plastic. But since most banks ensure customers against fraudulent charges anyway, consumers don’t appear to have been swayed by the promise of better security.
Still, I use Apple Pay regularly at Star Market. I touch the iPhone fingerprint reader with my thumb, confirming my identity. Then I tap the phone onto the card reader, there’s a gentle beep, and I’m done. It’s irresistible.
The Star Market terminals feature a special radio that talks to a chip inside the iPhone 6. But only about one million retail locations have such terminals, out of a possible 3.8 million in the United States. In most places you’ll still need to swipe a card.
Samsung Pay offers another option thanks to its $250 million acquisition of LoopPay, a Burlington company that invented a new way to swipe. Samsung’s LoopPay-equipped phones broadcast a magnetic field that matches the data stored on the credit card strip.
Samsung Pay works only on newer Samsung phones, such as the Galaxy S6 and the Note 5. These phones must be linked to AT&T Inc., T-Mobile USA Inc., or Sprint Corp. Verizon Wireless customers are out of luck, at least for now. Also, only three card issuers presently support Samsung Pay—US Bank, Bank of America, and Citi.
Luckily, I use Bank of America, and run AT&T on my Galaxy S6. So I switched off Android Pay and tested Samsung Pay on the old-school swipe machines at the Globe cafeteria. I just held the phone next to the terminal, and touched the S6’s fingerprint reader. It worked like a charm.
So can I leave my debit card at home? Not a chance. I wandered into a Benjamin Moore paint store for a pair of rubber gloves. Here the card swiper was built right into the register, so shoppers must hand over their cards, or their phones. I persuaded the skeptical clerk to let me wave the Samsung phone over the swiper, but with no success. Even Samsung admits that LoopPay’s technology works about 90 percent of the time.
Besides, many restaurants expect you to hand over a credit card to pay your bill. Would you rather hand over a phone stuffed with personal information? Me neither. Besides, the waiter would need your fingerprint, or PIN number. Perhaps someday they’ll carry around Apple Pay-compatible terminals like the sales staff at an Apple store. Until then, we’d better keep our plastic handy.
But in that case, why bother with Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay? An extra dab of convenience, along with a surge of geeky delight as I reach for my phone instead of my wallet? But the wallet is still there, and will be for years to come.