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2Apple Pay: One of the Newer Services on the Block
Apple finally announced its Apple Pay digital wallet last year. The service allows users to store credit cards within their iOS devices and then pay with Apple Pay. To do so, the app requires that users hover their fingers over the Touch ID fingerprint sensor on a mobile device to confirm they are indeed the person buying the product. Apple Pay can also be integrated into mobile apps for mobile payments. Perhaps the best feature of Apple Pay is that all purchase details, including the person’s credit card number, are masked from the merchant.
3Google Wallet Works for Some
With help from near-field communication (NFC), Google Wallet provides many of the same features one would find in Apple Pay. When users are in a store, they can simply tap on a credit card reader and make a purchase with credit cards stored in their wallets. Google Wallet also works online and allows users to send money and pay bills. Like Apple Pay, Google Wallet has full encryption support.
4Amazon Payments for the Online Solution
Amazon Payments is a more digitally focused solution than Apple Pay and Google Wallet, which attract brick-and-mortars. Amazon Payments essentially takes the credit cards a person has on file with Amazon.com and lets users make payments online with them. To do so, a merchant must support Amazon Payments on its site. Users then log in to Amazon Payments and make a purchase. Amazon Payments has several retail partners, but the company is reportedly looking to grow the service this year.
5Samsung Pay Joins the Fray
Samsung Pay is very similar to Apple Pay in that it requires near-field communication to work, it can be used both in-app and in brick-and-mortar stores, and is exclusively available to the company’s handsets. Samsung Pay is designed to be both fast and secure and uses the strongest standards for encryption and data protection. Samsung Pay doesn’t yet have the reach that Apple Pay does, but Samsung estimates that 30 million merchant locations worldwide could eventually support its platform.
6Square Is a Longtime Favorite
Square is arguably one of the more sophisticated companies in this roundup, offering products that appeal to a wide range of customers. The company has a square card reader for merchants, a point-of-sale system, inventory tracking and more. Interestingly, it’s one of the few companies in this roundup that caters only to merchants: The company has, on two occasions, tried to offer mobile wallets to consumers, but they’ve failed. For companies, Square delivers the widest array of solutions.
7PayPal Here Gets Into Mobile Payments
PayPal Here is another credit card reader like Square’s own mobile payment system. Merchants can use the PayPal Here card reader to accept payments with credit cards. For customers, PayPal is a potential boon. The offering includes mobile payments, the ability to make online payments through the standard PayPal service and more. It’s an appealing service for merchants and consumers.
8CurrentC Will Make Its Move
CurrentC is a little different from some of the other options in this roundup. It’s a mobile wallet designed to provide more flexibility in the way people pay for products. The app includes the ability to pay for products through connected checking accounts or credit cards, but also has bundled loyalty programs and a feature that lets users redeem exclusive offers.
9Alibaba’s Alipay Moves Into U.S. Market
Alibaba’s Alipay is a major player in China and could very well become a prominent payment service elsewhere around the world. Like PayPal, Alipay includes full support for connecting a credit card or checking account to an account and making payments. Alipay has been slowly but surely making inroads into key markets, like the U.S., with partnerships with Walmart and others. Best of all for merchants, Alipay has no transaction fees.
10Intuit Tries Its Luck in Mobile Payments
Intuit’s GoPayment payment service is similar to those offered by Square; it provides a free card scanner and includes an app that merchants can use to accept credit card payments on mobile devices. Any type of credit card is accepted, and merchants can use the app with Intuit’s accounting application Quickbooks.
11Coinbase Bitcoin Wallet Secures Cryptocurrency Payments
Coinbase has become the most prominent U.S.-based Bitcoin exchange. So the introduction of Coinbase a digital wallet service is big news for people who trade in bitcoin. Coinbase’s Bitcoin Wallet lets people securely pay for goods and services with Bitcoins without having to share a credit card or bank account information with a merchant. An increasing number of merchants are supporting Bitcoin, which makes the idea of having a secure wallet all the more appealing.