Mobile Payment Apps Safe and Secure Way to Make In-Store Purchase

Mobile payment revenue worldwide soared from $450 billion in 2015 to more than $1 trillion in 2019, according to Statista.1 With many shoppers being extra cautious due to COVID-19, digital payment apps are a safe, secure and touchless way to make in-store purchases. Popular apps such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay securely store payment information on a smartphone or smart watch and utilize near-field communication (NFC), to offer wireless payment through a merchant’s payment terminal.

“At U.S. Cellular, we want to be a resource and provide insight to all of the activities that technology can help us do, especially at this time,” said Nakeita Stewart, director of sales for U.S. Cellular in Illinois. “Mobile payment apps are a convenient and secure way to make purchases with the added benefit of helping keep shoppers and workers healthy.”

In addition to in-store payments, these apps also make it easy to pay for in-app and online purchases as well as money transfers to friends and family. They are accepted at millions of retailers, and allow users to purchase items without the need for physical credit cards or wallets. For those thinking about joining the community of mobile payers, U.S. Cellular shares the below information and tips to help you get started:

• Security: Mobile payment apps are more secure than a physical card because they use encrypted versions of the card number, meaning the actual number is never transferred. They then utilize the phone’s Touch ID technology, facial recognition or a PIN to complete a purchase.
• Acceptance: Within the apps, you can see several of the in-store and online retailers where their respective digital payments are accepted, and mobile payment apps work with thousands of banks and credit card companies to make it simple to add your cards to the apps.
• Convenience: With all of your cards in one place, you can reduce your checkout time and choose the best one for each purchase. Mobile payments also can simplify business accounting by avoiding a backlog of invoices and receipts, which eliminates data entry and saves time.
• Rewards: Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay offer cash-back rewards for purchases made in their app at select retailers that can be in addition to any rewards your credit card offers.

1Total revenue of global mobile payment market from 2015 to 2019 https://www.statista.com/statistics/226530/mobile-payment-transaction-volume-forecast/