Mobile payment: How to start paying by mobile phone and what you need to know

Autor: Zuzana Žiaranová, Tatra banka | 06.08.2024

We have summarized everything you should know about mobile payment. Useful information and interesting points are complemented by detailed instructions. Without hesitation, you can add your card to the digital wallet and pay the merchant with your mobile phone.

Mobile payment is very popular in Slovakia. More than 220,000 clients use contactless mobile payments in Tatra banka alone. Out of this, every 10th client immediately reaches for his mobile phone and does not even consider using his plastic card for contactless payment.

If you also have an iPhone or Android smartphone in your pocket, don't hesitate and try how easy it is to pay with a mobile phone.

Contactless mobile payments have been celebrating 12 years

Did you know that mobile payment was brought to Slovakia by Tatra banka? In 2012, we introduced the iCarte, a small add-on device that contained an NFC chip and enabled iPhone owners to make contactless mobile payments. The revolutionary solution at the time can make you smile today - the device was connected via a smartphone connector, extending the iPhone by at least a centimeter.

The very next year, in 2013, we made NFC mobile payments available to owners of Android smartphones. However, they had to use the services of the operator O2 or Orange and apply for a special NFC SIM card. Mobile payments were thus another debit card to the current account.

As technology has evolved, so has the evolution of mobile payments. In 2016, we introduced our own banking service for contactless mobile payment - the MobilePay^TB application. You no longer needed any special SIM card or additional devices, just an Android smartphone was enough.

The MobilePay^TB application made it possible to enable mobile payment for any Visa payment card. It was no longer necessary to issue another payment card.

The current history of contactless mobile payments began in 2019, when the Apple Pay service arrived on our market. During the first week alone, more than 25,000 Tatra banka clients activated it. A year later, even owners of Android smartphones could enjoy mobile payments, because we introduced the Google Pay service. And we will talk more about mobile payments from Apple and Google in the following lines.

What are the advantages of mobile payments?

Statistics from card companies say that we almost always return home for a forgotten mobile phone, while for a wallet only in half of the cases. And we report the loss of a mobile phone within six hours on average, while it takes more than a day for a card.

The main advantages of mobile payment are considered:

• Comfort - the mobile phone replaces not one, but several payment cards. You can upload all the Visa cards you own to the digital wallet.
• Security - no one can spy on your card data. Sensitive card data is encrypted during mobile payment and replaced by biometrics or a unique code.
• You don't have to wait for the plastic card - while it arrives in the mail or is delivered to the branch, you can already pay with your mobile phone.

 

Mobile payment in Tatra banka 

You have a payment card in your mobile phone immediately after opening a current account or buying a credit card. You can find it in the Tatra banka application, from where you can add it to your digital wallet.

However, before we get to the actual instructions on how to set up contactless payments on a mobile phone, we will briefly discuss the basic terms, as many people tend to confuse them:

• Wallet and Google Wallet are mobile apps where you add your payment cards to pay with Apple Pay and Google Pay.
• Apple Pay and Google Pay are the names of services that allow you to pay for purchases by simply holding your phone to a payment terminal. Payments via these services are also enabled by selected online merchants and mobile applications.

Download the digital wallet:

Available on theApp Store 

Android app onGoogle play 

Install the Tatra banka application:

Available on theApp Store 

Android app onGoogle play 

 

Which mobile phones support contactless payment?

• All iPhone models with Face ID and Touch ID are compatible with Apple Pay, with the exception of the iPhone 5s.
• Google Pay is supported by all Android devices (Android 5.0 and later) with NFC technology.

How to add a card to a digital wallet

The process is same for both services, Apple Pay and Google Pay:

1. Log in to the Tatra banka application.

2. In the List of cards, select the card you want to use for mobile payments.

3. Under the card image, click Add to Apple Wallet or Add to Google Wallet.

The first payment card you add to your digital wallet will be your default card. You can change the default card when you add more cards.

Default card change on iPhone:

• Open the Wallet application.
• Touch and hold the card you want to use as default card.
• Drag the card in front of the other cards.

Default card change on Android:

• Open the Google Wallet application.
• Tap the card you want to use as default card.
• Click Details and select Set as default for tap to pay.

 

Process: How to pay with a mobile phone in stores

With Apple Pay and Google Pay, you pay easily and quickly wherever contactless payments are accepted. 

Look for these symbols at checkout:

You don't need a data connection for contactless mobile payment, you just need to access the merchant's terminal and follow our instructions.

Apple Pay payment

Every payment, regardless of its amount, must be confirmed on the iPhone via either Face ID or Touch ID.

• If you have an iPhone with Face ID, double-press the side button. When prompted, look directly at the mobile display. Next, hold the top of the phone to the payment terminal until the text Done appears on the screen.
• If you have an iPhone with Touch ID, double-press the Home button and hold the top of the phone to the payment terminal until the text Done appears on the screen.
• If you want to use a different card than the default one, tap the default card when paying and other cards will be displayed. Select the card you want to pay with and proceed as you would for a default mobile payment.

Google Pay payment

If you are the owner of an Android mobile phone, it is important that you know that the process for mobile payments is different for purchases up to 50 EUR (including) and above 50 EUR.

• If you are paying up to 50 EUR (including), turn on the display on your phone and place it with the back side to the merchant's payment terminal.
• If you're paying over 50 EUR, unlock your phone and place the back of your phone against the merchant's payment terminal.
• To use a card other than the default card, in the Google Wallet app, slide your finger over your card and drag from the right edge of the screen to the left until you find the card you want to use.

Where you can find a list of mobile payments

You can search for all mobile payments just as quickly as payments with a plastic card. You can find them under Movements on the card in the Tatra banka application or in Internet banking^TB.

If you're fine with a shorter history and own an iPhone, you'll see your last 10 transactions in the Apple Wallet app.

What to watch out for with mobile payments? 

In general, contactless mobile payment is one of the safest payment methods. As we mentioned above, sensitive card data is encrypted during payment. This means that no merchant has access to your card number or CVV code, and therefore there is no risk of being able to misuse your card for further purchases in the future. 

However, you should be careful in two cases: 

1. If you don't want to use your old phone anymore, or you want to give it to someone or sell it.

2. If your mobile phone is lost or stolen.

In the first case, before giving your mobile to another person, do not forget to remove the card from the Apple or Google digital wallet.

How to remove a card from iPhone:

• In the Wallet app, select the card you want to remove.
• At the top right, click More (the 3-dot symbol) and then Card Detail.
• Scroll down and select Remove card.

How to remove a card from Android:

• In the Google Wallet app, find the payment method you want to remove.
• If it's not the first card, swipe left until you find it.
• Click on the card and in the upper right click on More (the 3-dot symbol).
• Select option Remove payment method.

 

If you have lost your mobile phone, contact the DIALOG Live service immediately and request the removal of the payment card from the digital wallet.

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