Are Digital Wallets like Google and Apple Pay Safe to Use?

Google Pay is now available in South Africa, joining Apple, Garmin and Samsung Pay in the ranks of contactless card payment solutions and digital wallets available for retail purchases across the country.

If you’re keen to stop using a physical credit card or cash, Google Pay may be an excellent alternative –  especially since it offers a range of financial planning and budgeting tools as part of its app.

But is it safe from cyber criminals?

Here’s everything you need to know about this new payment platform and how you can get started using it safely.

how does Google pay work?

If you’ve used Apple Pay, you’ll be happy to know that Google pay works in a very similar way and it’s available for android devices.

Once you’ve downloaded the Google Pay app and registered your credit card as a payment method, you can tap your phone on the payment reader at retailers that support eWallet transactions and your transaction should go through within seconds.

Google Pay and other digital wallets offer convenience as well as the “coolness factor” that comes with being able to pay instantly just by tapping your smartphone or smart watch. They’ve also been touted as safe alternatives to credit cards – but is this really true?

is your financial data safe when you tap to pay?

E payment providers and advocates of this new payment technology are keen to remind us that contactless card payment solutions are actually safer than using a credit card. The reason for this is that when you pay via Google Pay or a similar app your actual credit card details are not shared during the transaction.

Google Pay uses a system called tokenisation which assigns a random number to your credit card or other payment method instead of using your actual card details.

Overall, it’s probably safe to believe the claims that tokenisation is safer than using a traditional credit card but like any payment method it still has some vulnerabilities. According to digital security experts, your information is heavily encoded with tokenisation and even if the retailer or supplier gets hacked your credit card number can’t be compromised.

keeping your digital wallet safe

Taking SA crime levels into consideration, having a cashless payment app on your phone may be risky in the event of your device being stolen – especially if there’s no passcode or Face ID verification in place. There are additional precautions you can take to ensure your information remains secure.

• Keep your device serial number and IMEI in a safe place for easy reference.
• You’ll want to enable these on your Google pay or Apple Pay app Wallet before you use your phone for payments.
• When you register your credit card as a payment method on Google Pay or similar apps, it’s always best to use a virtual credit card. If you bank with FNB, you can create a specific virtual card and use it only for Google pay so that you can track expenses easily and quickly detect any irregular transactions.
• Use separate lock codes for your phone and digital wallet.
• Install security apps on your smartphone that allow you to locate it in the event of theft from another mobile device.
• Carefully monitor your financial accounts. It’s important to report irregular transactions to your bank immediately and ask them to cancel the card.
• Finally, it’s never a good idea to use mobile wallet apps over public Wifi, especially at airports – rather use your own mobile data.

New technology like tokenisation is making contactless card payments safer than before, just as secure cloud storage makes it safer to keep your data encrypted and away from prying eyes. If you haven’t started using secure cloud storage yet, there’s no time to lose. Get started by browsing our range of packages for businesses and individuals.