Android Pay Launches in Ireland

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Android Pay launched today meaning you can use your phone to make payments if your phone meets the below crtieria. I used my phoned several times today to make payments without any issues. Great not having to carry the card.

- Supported banks in Ireland: KBC and AIB.
- Card types: Debit and credit cards.
- OS: Android 4.4+
- Phone must have NFC. (Near field communications).
- Limit for payments without unlocking your phone: 30 EUR.
- Payments over 30 EUR can be made by unlocking your phone before payment.
- Payments under 30 EUR are accepted everywhere that contactless payments are accepted. i.e. Almost all retailers.
- Payments over 30 EUR are accepted in the majority of cases but some retailers do not yet have the software for it.
- Instant notification of payments.
- Ability to link loyalty cards such as Tesco loyalty cards.
 
Thanks for that Ciaran.

I saw a couple of newspaper reports on this and was delighted to read about it going live in Ireland. I gather both Apple and Samsung are a few months away from offering their versions of the service here, however.

Two questions, if I may please:
  • Do you need to be either an AIB or KBC customer to avail of this service and if not, whats the reference to KBC and AIB please ?
  • How does Android Pay make it's money, are we being charged per transaction or by way of quarterly fees etc. or are the Banks funding the service (eh, in other words we're paying indirectly rather than directly for it ;)) ?
 
Do you need to be either an AIB or KBC customer to avail of this service and if not, whats the reference to KBC and AIB please ?

You need to be a customer of AIB or KBC and have a debit or credit card with the bank. Thus far, only AIB and KBC have made their cards compatible with Android Pay.

How does Android Pay make it's money, are we being charged per transaction or by way of quarterly fees etc. or are the Banks funding the service (eh, in other words we're paying indirectly rather than directly for it ;)) ?

There is no (extra) charge to the consumer. I suspect that the banks pay a small fee per transaction to Google.
 
PTSB have no immediate plans to enable Android Pay.:rolleyes: They are looking in to it as part of future developments.
 
I've been using Android Pay since launch and find it very handy. Has anyone successfully used Android Pay for a transaction over €30? I've tried in Woodie's and Smiths but it didn't work.
 
Having lost phones previously, I wouldn't touch this with a mile long stick.

It depends on your appetite for risk. For me the risk is quite manageable. It is arguably safer than contactless cards.
Some mitigating factors:
- I don't have NFC enabled on my phone unless I'm making a payment. If I'm going to use Android Pay I turn it on while I am in the queue. This takes 2-3 seconds. This means that if my phone is lost or stolen nobody can use it to pay for anything without knowing the passcode to unlock the phone.
- If your phone is lost/stolen you can lock/wipe it using Andorid Device Manager as demoivre points out.
- If your phone is lost/stolen you can ring the bank and turn off Android Pay functionality for the associated card(s).
- If your phone is lost/stolen you're more likely to miss it than another card in your wallet.
 
I've been using Android Pay since launch and find it very handy. Has anyone successfully used Android Pay for a transaction over €30? I've tried in Woodie's and Smiths but it didn't work.

I have used Android Pay for payments over €30. For payments over €30, you need to wake up the phone and open the app.
 
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