ANDROID PAY HAS FINALLY ARRIVED IN THE FIRST COUNTRY OUTSIDE THE US

Google has launched Android Pay in the United Kingdom, allowing people to buy goods by just tapping their phones.

Customers will not need to fumble their wallets or pockets and hand over a card when buying things. With the Android Pay, you just need to unlock the phone, place it near a contactless terminal, and purchase what you need.

The payments system allows customers to turn their phones into payments cards. Like the Apple Pay, the Android Pay lets customers swap their mobile phones for credit and touch its card reader to pay.

This is the first time that Google has taken Android pay outside the US. It made the announcement few hours ahead of i I/O event, where it plans to show off its best innovation.

To use Android Pay, you must download the app and enter an eligible credit card from one of the supported banks.

According to Google, the payment system will be able to work in all places that accept contactless payments. The companies will not be needed to add any special hardware.

Android pay is currently allowing users to make payments of up to £30.  Unlike Apple Pay that asks for fingerprint each time you make a transaction, Android Pay does not require you to unlock your phone. However, for purchase of high value that £30; users must enter a security method, such as fingerprint or a pin code.

The payment system work wells with all NFC-enabled phones that have KitKat 4.4. In addition, it can be used in apps, including those create by Deliveroo or JD Sports.

The Google is expected to expand Android Payment further to Australia and Singapore and other countries.

Payments through Android Pay are very secure. As soon as a customer makes a purchase, he/she receives a confirmation showing where exactly the transaction took place, along with merchant’s number and name.

Apple Pay, available in most recent iPhones, was at the top in the mobile payments market after it was launched last July in UK.

Samsung is also expected to launch its Samsung Pay at some point this year. Consequently, consumers will have more options to choose from before this years ends.

Samsung Pay is unique in that it can work with non-contactless card terminal unlike its competitors.

By use of magnet secure transmission (MST) technology, Samsung devices will emit signals that imitate the action of a card that is being swapped through the terminal, letting customers to pay with their mobile phones almost anywhere.

Because Samsung phones operate by help of the Android operating system, its users will have to decide which payment system to use: Android Pay or Samsung Pay.

Many major mobile companies target the UK market because the country is known for making a lot of contactless payments. Over 70 million contactless cards are believed to be circulating in UK. In London, one in three cards payments in 2014 was contactless.