What Are the Best Digital Payment Services 2022?
Cash used to be king, but these days most of us don’t have paper or coins in our wallets. Instead, more and more customers are paying digitally, ditching even magnetic stripe and chip cards. The era of digital payment services has arrived, and it’s time to choose the one that suits your needs.
What Is a Digital Payment Service?
Digital payment services speak for themselves. In fact, this category includes any service that allows businesses and individuals to pay for goods and services digitally without cash, checks, debit, or credit cards.
They may still be linked to your bank account or credit card. But these payment methods are never revealed to those you pay to. Some digital payment services allow you to pay for purchases in person using your smartphone or smartwatch.
What Should a Digital Payment Service Do?
Ideally, the digital payment service you choose should allow you to pay for purchases online and in-store. You can also easily distribute money to friends and family without waiting for bank transfers or dealing with cash at ATMs. The way you make joint payments (for example, a separate restaurant bill) can also be an important feature.
The digital payment service should be not only convenient but also safe! Many of these services are attractive for online payments because they do not reveal your bank or credit card details to anyone. They also usually have a protection policy that will refund your money if you are the victim of a scam. Suppliers using these payment platforms have an interest in doing business honestly, otherwise, they risk being excluded.
The third important thing these services have to offer is widespread acceptance. If you can’t confidently leave your cash and cards at home knowing you can pay for your services, it won’t help! Since Tap-and-Pay terminals are now very common, services that offer NFC (Near Field Communication) payment generally do not fulfill this requirement
How Mobile Device Payments Work
There are several ways to use digital payment services. Today, most smartphones and smartwatches have NFC capabilities, the same technology used in payment cards. After setting up a digital payment service, you need to touch your device to a payment terminal, usually after entering a PIN code or performing a biometric verification.
When doing cross-app transactions with anyone, you’ll use your internet connection to transfer money, so you don’t have to be in the same place. Some services may also use QR codes for payment. For example, a QR code will be displayed in a store; you will use the payment app to scan the QR code, enter the amount and complete the payment.
The Best Digital Payment Services
Which digital payment services work best for you depends largely on which part of the world you live in. The list of selected payment services below is from a US perspective and readers in the US will find them widely accepted and convenient.
Apple Pay
Apple Pay is a digital payment service integrated into most Apple devices. You can use your iPhone or Apple Watch to pay in stores, and you can pay online at sites that support this feature. For example, Airbnb supports Apple Pay and you can use FaceID or TouchID on your iPhone or Mac to verify your purchase. Apple Pay is even more powerful with Apple’s own credit card, which is fully integrated with Apple Pay.
Google Pay
Google pay is a great solution for Android users looking to compete with Apple Pay. It offers a very similar set of features and allows you to pay for goods in the store using a payment terminal, on websites, and in the Google Play store.
Samsung Pay
Samsung Pay is Samsung’s own digital payment solution that works with Galaxy phones starting with the 2015 Galaxy Note 5. It also works with a range of Samsung smartwatches, but this is not as complete a list as phone models.
Some Galaxy phones (like the Note 10+) are equipped with a magnetic swipe simulator, so they will work with card terminals that don’t have a click-to-pay feature. Unfortunately, this feature has been removed in newer phones such as the Galaxy S21.
Samsung Pay is a great service if you’re already using a compatible device, but you won’t find websites that offer it. Also, if you want to send money to another non-legal Samsung Pay user, both of you need to apply and have a Samsung debit card, which severely limits the usefulness of this feature.
PayPal
PayPal is perhaps the most famous online digital payment service. This is the company that popularized the idea of ​​an intermediary between your credit card and online stores.
While PayPal has become one of the best places to pay for things or get paid, you may not know that you can also pay for things with PayPal in the store. Although this is achieved with the PayPal app and a QR code provided by the business owner. It’s nowhere near as convenient or versatile as click-to-pay, but it’s a great addition if you’re already a PayPal user and know a few places in your area that offer it.
PayPal makes it easy to send money to family and friends, who can then spend it directly online or withdraw to a linked bank account.
Cash app
Cash App is a financial service that makes digital payments much easier than cash. First of all, it allows you to easily and quickly transfer money between friends and family, as long as they all have the Cash app. You can get a virtual debit card linked to your account balance in the app and withdraw money to your bank account.
Although Cash App does not offer an in-store payment method, their virtual debit card works with Apple Pay, so you can use the money that other people send you in Cash App at the terminal in this way.
Venmo
Venmo is a digital payment service owned by PayPal that specializes in transferring money between individuals. You can order a physical card to use in a store, or pay with a QR code at stores that support it. If necessary, users can transfer money from Venmo to a bank account.
Digital Payments are the Future
Cash will be around for a while, but digital payment services are replacing the use of physical money due to their speed and convenience. Combined with the increased use of cryptocurrencies, the day may come when the only place you will see coins and banknotes will be in a museum!