E-wallets are becoming increasingly important in the post-pandemic economy as consumers move away from cash payments. Digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay have exploded in popularity due to their convenient features, including instant payments across different platforms, privacy protection, and virtual card management. Because both platforms for digital payments offer a wide variety of functionalities, customers may have difficulty deciding which e-wallet best suits their needs. To help you decide which digital wallet is right for you, we’ve laid out the similarities and differences between Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Introducing Apple Pay
Debuting in the fall of 2014, Apple Pay is a mobile payment service developed and offered by Apple Inc. that enables customers to make in-store, in-app, and online purchases with their iOS devices. Its contactless payment technology encourages consumers to shed their bulky wallets in favor of electronic versions that hold their debit and credit card information.
Apple Pay is accepted by thousands of retailers around the world, including over 75% of US businesses and 85% of UK establishments. It has emerged as a dominant online payment system, used by over 227 million people and accepted by major retailers and restaurants, including Subway, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Nike, and Disney. The app’s built-in privacy shield and secure payments system have made it a trusted mode of payment with Apple Pay betting sites. Additionally, it can be used for everything from buying groceries to splitting the rent, paying for flight tickets, or online shopping.
Onto Google Pay
In 2018, Google updated and redesigned its mobile and online payment systems, bringing them all under the Google Pay banner. The application has more than one hundred million users across 46 countries and is compatible with contactless payments and in-app purchases across various platforms.
Google Pay is the preferred method of online payment due to its fast processing times and lack of hidden fees when making purchases, paying bills, and covering other types of daily expenditures. It differs from other digital wallets in a way that it deposits funds immediately into the user’s bank account. This eliminates the user’s need to worry about receiving funds in a wallet and then transferring them manually.
The Similarities
Digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay are great options for making purchases online because of their convenient features and security measures. These industry leaders have distinct qualities, but they also have some things in common. Let’s take a closer look at the similarities between Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Instant Checkout Process
When making an in-app or web-based purchase with either Google Pay or Apple Pay, the entire checkout process is automated with pre-filled defaults and PIN or Touch ID identification.
Contactless Payments
Apple Pay and Google Pay systems both enable customers to make contactless payments by utilizing near-field communication (NFC) technology.
Secure Transactions
Both systems employ tokenization, a method of masking financial data such as PANs (Personal Account Numbers) during transactions, thus ensuring safe and secure transactions.
Differences between Apple Pay & Google Pay
Here are some of the most notable differences between Apple Pay and Google Pay
Accessibility
Comparatively, Google Pay can be used on any Android device as well as iPhones, while Apple Pay is exclusively compatible with iPhones, iPads, and Apple watches that have Touch ID or Face ID.
Tracking
If you use Google Pay, the company can keep track of your purchases and use that data to serve you more relevant advertisements. However, Apple claims, unequivocally, that it will never monitor your financial dealings.