What are pay services?
What are pay services?
What's coming up?
In this activity you’ll learn about payment services such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, and other pay services, and how you can use these services to pay safely in-store and online.
You’ll also find out some of the advantages to using these pay services instead of a traditional credit card.
Start activityProtection and convenience
When paying for goods, particularly online, the more protection you can get, the better. One way to get extra protection as well as convenience, is to use a service such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, or similar.
These are commonly referred to as pay services.
How a pay service works
A pay service uses an account you can set up for free and also takes advantage of your mobile phone’s security features so you can make quick, secure, and convenient payments.
It allows you to then use your mobile phone to pay for goods, such as at the supermarket, instead of swiping your credit card.
A pay service isn't a line of credit
A pay service isn't a new line of credit or finance. Instead, you add the information from your existing credit or debit card when you set up your pay service account.
The pay service enables your phone to communicate with the EFTPOS machine so you can pay. When you make a payment using a pay service, the funds come directly from the credit or debit card associated with your pay service account.
What you need for a Pay service
To set up a pay service, you need the following:
- A mobile phone that has a Near Field Communications (NFC) feature. Available by default on most modern devices, it's what your phone uses to sense and communicate with an EFTPOS machine.
- An account that you set up for free, such as a Google Account or Apple ID
- A credit card or debit card to link to your pay service
- The app for your pay service, which, depending on your phone brand, is usually already installed by default.
We will go into more detail about linking your credit card account in the next activity in this course.
The main benefits of a pay service
Your pay service makes paying for things easier. At the shop? Just unlock your phone, hold your phone near the scanner, and payment is made!
This only happens if your phone and pay service app are unlocked, which prevents accidental payments.
And because a pay service uses the NFC scanner in your phone, you don’t have to touch the EFTPOS machine, which is good for hygiene.
You can still pay with your plastic card
A pay service is a way of paying, rather than a whole new account. This means you can still pay with your regular plastic card if you want.
For example, if you are having trouble unlocking your phone, or you suddenly find out your phone battery is flat, you can still just get your card out and use it. No problem!
More convenience
You can use the one pay service to link multiple credit cards. So you can have all your cards set up in the one app on your mobile phone.
This means you won’t have to rummage for the right card, or accidentally pull out a card you didn’t want to use. Being able to pay from your phone mean you can leave your wallet at home (but check your phone’s battery is charged before you leave!).
Using a pay service online
You can also use your pay service at home, on your computer or mobile device, when you want to purchase something from a website or e-store.
On the e-store’s Check Out screen, just look for the logo of your pay service and click it!
You won’t need to enter details because these are stored securely in your account.
Examples of pay services
There are a few pay services to choose from. Here are a few examples:
- Google Pay
- Apple Pay
- Samsung Pay
- Square
- Visa payWave
Why should I use a pay service?
Using a pay service is a very fast way to pay in shops. It’s also often the fastest way to pay online too.
Pay services are very secure, because along with your regular credit card protections, there’s also the password on your pay service account, and the security on your mobile phone. This can include biometrics such as fingerprint or retina recognition (Android phones) and Face Unlock and TouchID (for iPhone).
eSafety tip
When you use your pay service at a shop, the payment goes through when you hold your phone over the EFTPOS machine and unlock your pay service app.
Sometimes you will have to enter your credit card’s PIN (for some transactions over $100), but mostly the payment will go through right away.
When you use your pay service online, there may be a step that lets you confirm your purchase, but often there won’t. Always be certain you are making the right purchase before you use your pay service online.
Well done!
This is the end of the What are pay services? activity. You’ve learned what pay services are and how they work.
Coming up next is the Using pay services activity, where you can see more about how these services work at shops and online.