Apple Pay vs Android Pay Pros And Cons At A Glance

The FinTech industry seems to be on a perpetual journey with so many advancements happening around taking it to the unprecedented heights. One such breakthrough came in form of the digital wallets. When the digital wallets were first brought to light, there were all sorts of questions and arguments regarding their security and reliability. To say the least, no one ever thought they’d eventually become a part of our day-to-day lives. But the truth couldn’t be concealed for long. We all use digital wallets to store funds and make payments on the go. The payments made by digital wallets are wireless but they do need an internet connection.

Another breakthrough came in form of the Contactless Payments using Near Field Communication. These payments can be made even in absence of the internet connection and you can easily make in-store purchases wherever you see an NFC-enabled terminal. There are many mobile payment apps and digital wallets that let you make contactless payments. Some examples are Apple Pay, Google Wallet and Samsung Pay. Let’s talk about these in details.

Also read How Safe Are Bitcoin Wireless Payments.

Apple Pay

Apple is the first one to venture into this transpiring domain followed by the other tech giants like Google and Samsung. There are chances though that Xiaomi might also join the pool pretty soon. But as of now, the main competition is between these three. Apple Pay services were launched by the company in late 2014 with the launch of iPhone 6 as all the previous versions didn’t have NFC feature. For this specific reason, Apple Pay services are only supported by iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPad Pro, iPad Air 2 and Apple Smartwatch. However, you can use it with your iPhone 5, 5s and 5c as well but only in combination with the Apple Smartwatch.

Pros

• Easy to use

• Pays in a single tap

• Activates instantly when placed near an NFC terminal

• Majority of banks and retailers support Apple Pay

• Available in 12 countries including US, UK, China and Australia

Cons

• Doesn’t support older iPhones

• Supports limited number of devices

Android Pay

Shortly after the release of Apple Pay, Android Pay services were launched by the Google team in September 2016. It is yet another digital wallet brought to you by Google that lets you make in-app and in-store purchases with tap and pay functionality. Just like Apple Pay, it also uses NFC technology to make contactless payments to the NFC payment terminals installed at various stores. In order to make a payment, you need to hold your smartphone over the point-of-sale terminal in such a way that it comes in direct contact with the terminal. When it comes in contact with the terminal, it activates instantly and then you can tap to make the payment. It’s as simple as that. Apple Pay works in the same way. But the greatest advantage Android Pay has over the latter is that it supports a wide range of devices. In fact, any android smartphone can leverage this tap and pay functionality. It’s just that the smartphone must have the NFC feature. But thank heavens! Maximum number of Android powered smartphones come with the NFC feature.

Pros

• Supported by thousands of Android devices

• Easy to use

• Second largest user base

• Activates instantly when placed near an NFC terminal

Cons

• Only available in four countries

• Two-third users are from US only

• Supported by fewer banks

• Comparatively small user base