While the bank card still has a bright future ahead, more and more alternatives allow you to pay without having to take it out of your wallet.

Beyond online purchases through services like PayPal (which allows you to save your credit card data and then pay via this secure intermediary), it is smartphones that are used for payment transactions, thanks to dedicated mobile applications.

A simple procedure

Google Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Paylib, several free mobile tools allow you to transform your mobile phone into a bank card.

To pass the course, you must first activate the NFC function (available on recent models).

Once the payment application is installed, you just have to follow the instructions to scan your credit card data.

All you have to do then is take your cell phone to the store, without even unlocking it, to pay using contactless.

To avoid any risk of fraud, however, consider activating the biometric locking option on your smartphone (with your fingerprint or face recognition).

Beware of incompatibilities

But you still have to make the right choice to avoid any incompatibility, as the magazine

60 Millions de consommateurs points out

. Indeed, when selecting the payment application, you must make sure that it can be used with your bank, which is far from always the case. No problem for owners of an iPhone, since Apple has entered into a partnership with almost all the banking establishments on the market (traditional and online). On the other hand, only the Apple Pay tool will be usable, the company having voluntarily locked its NFC antenna for the sole benefit of the application it publishes.

As for Android smartphone users, it all depends on their bank.

They can use Paylib, the French payment service, for BRED, CIC, Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel, BNP Paribas, La Banque Postale, LCL, Société Générale or Hello Bank.

Conversely, Google Pay only works with a handful of online banks, including Boursorama, Fortuneo, Orange Bank or N26 for the most famous.

Finally, Samsung Pay is a partner of several traditional establishments (including Crédit Agricole, Banque Populaire, Crédit du Nord and Caisse d'épargne), as well as Boursorama, Fortuneo and Ma French Bank.

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