Archives for October 2017

Android Pay gains Full payment history and notifications

October 31, 2017 by Beau Leave a Comment

As a Halloween treat, it appears that Google has now added transaction notifications to Android Pay, for payments that weren’t made via Android Pay.

A feature that has been around since day one for Samsung Pay and Apple Pay, and limited to cards issued by American Express, it’s a great way to keep an eye on when your card is being used.

Whenever your card is used, be it Android Pay, using the plastic card instore, using it online or over the phone, or even using it on another device (Apple Watch, Android Wear watch, etc) – you’ll get a notification letting you know where, when and how much.
In addition, the full history will be shown in your payment app, which makes for a handy mini statement. You don’t even need the app from your bank installed!

As you can see in the screenshot below, it seems that Google are still working on it considering that the Samsung Pay notification came in at the correct time, whereas the Android Pay notification was a little more delayed.

Getting started with ‘virtual’ Suica and Apple Pay on your iPhone or Apple Watch

October 27, 2017 by Beau 1 Comment

One of the ‘big’ changes that Apple quietly introduced with the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and the X, as well as the Apple Watch Series 3, is support for Suica no matter where you buy your phone or Watch.

While Suica support was added to the iPhone 7 and Watch Series 2, they were restricted to models sold in Japan. So if you travel to Japan often and wanted to take advantage of Suica on your phone, unfortunately this would mean you’d need to buy your phone (or watch) in Japan. (which then had it’s own list of downsides, for example, the camera shutter is permanently on, thanks to the local laws. As an Australian, you’d also miss out on the effective ‘warranty’ above and beyond a year thanks to your consumer rights).

Apple has changed that this year; you can now both add ‘existing’ cards to Apple Pay, or create virtual cards via the Suica app, which I’ll show you here. You don’t need to fiddle with any settings, nor create any additional App Store accounts! [Read more…] about Getting started with ‘virtual’ Suica and Apple Pay on your iPhone or Apple Watch

eftpos comes to Apple Pay

October 18, 2017 by Beau Leave a Comment

18eftpos is finally available on Apple Pay in Australia, marking all four payment networks (Visa, Mastercard, American Express and eftpos) available for payments on iPhone and Apple Watch (and iPad and Mac for online/app payments). With eftpos only available in Australia, and currently in store only (no support for online or phone payments), it’s actually not the first country specific network to be supported by Apple, with Interac cards supported in Canada.

As what seems to be the norm these days, ANZ is first out of the gates, and is also the only bank supporting eftpos. While ‘debit’ cards have been available in Apple Pay for a while, previously they’ve been dual scheme Visa/Mastercard cards, and when you tap your phone or watch, it goes through as a ‘Credit’ transaction via the Visa/Mastercard networks. While this has some benefits (especially when it comes to chargebacks), it also usually costs a business more than an eftpos payment would.

Interestingly, Apple Wallet includes support for eftpos’ unique CHQ/SAV accounts, where you can change the account that you’re tapping with, a boon for those with multiple bank accounts linked to a single card. [Read more…] about eftpos comes to Apple Pay

Woolworths Rewards comes to the iPhone with Apple Wallet support

October 15, 2017 by Beau 16 Comments

Woolworths have become the first retailer in Australia (and one of the first worldwide, with only Walgreens, Coke and Kohl’s onboard elsewhere) to bring their ‘Woolworths Rewards’ program to Apple Wallet.

One of the main benefits (and differences) between your Woolworths Rewards card in Apple Wallet, and using other apps such as Stocard, CommBank or even Woolworths’ own apps (be it Woolworths, Woolworths Fuel or Woolworths Money), is that passes in Wallet have the ability to be transmitted over NFC.
Rather than doing the wave with your phone under the barcode reader in the hope that it’ll scan properly, you just need to tap your phone on the eftpos terminal. And even better, it works on the watch too. Plus – no need to unlock your phone or open an app. [Read more…] about Woolworths Rewards comes to the iPhone with Apple Wallet support

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Archives for October 2017