Why you should pay with your phone whenever you can
Tech Culture
Notification on
Notification off
Transcript
If you're not paying with your phone whenever you can, you're [SOUND] doing it all wrong.
Mobile payments are so much more secure than swiping a plastic credit card and it all has to do with what happens on the backend after you either tap your phone or swipe your card.
When you pay with a card, one that doesn't have a chip, your name and credit card number stay with the retailer well after your purchase.
So when there are big retail breaches like the ones that happened at Target, Home Depot, Michael's, and so on, your credit card info becomes exposed.
Now when you pay with your phone something entirely different happens.
Instead of sending the retailer your real credit card number your phone generates a token, or a temporary card number.
This means that after that transaction, that card number is essentially useless.
By now a lot of android phones and iPhones can handle payment.
NFC-enabled Android phones can use Android Pay.
The new Samsung phones have Samsung Pay.
And of course, there's Apple Pay.
More importantly, many of the bigger merchants in the US now accept mobile payments.
And as retailers update their payment terminals, that number will just keep growing.
And now you're doing it right.
Up Next
Your social apps are crushing your data plan
1:20
It's time to make Android bloatware disappear
1:23
How to make your food look Instagram-worthy
1:13
Your phone's screen is ruining your sleep
1:03
Why your fitness band might be lying to you
1:17
How to make your laptop battery last longer
1:24
Why you might want to consider moving your thermostat
1:17
The driving myth that too many people believe
1:09
Why you should stop closing apps to save battery life
