Android Pay vs. Apple Pay was emerging as an important comparison as Google prepared to expand its presence in the mobile payments market. Both digital wallets were designed around similar capabilities, including NFC contactless payments at physical stores and streamlined payments for online purchases. For many consumers, the choice between the two would largely be determined by whether they owned an Android or Apple device.
However, the competitive landscape was more complicated for Android users because Samsung Pay introduced another option for owners of compatible Samsung smartphones. Unlike Apple Pay and Android Pay, Samsung Pay was designed to work with both NFC-enabled terminals and many traditional payment terminals, potentially giving it a significant acceptance advantage. Carrier support and device compatibility, however, could limit that advantage and add another layer of complexity to the developing mobile wallet market.
The industry is waiting rather breathlessly for the roll out of Android Pay, now rumored to launch as soon as tomorrow. A recent article in ITPro walks through the features of Android Pay and Apple Pay for comparison and came to the conclusion:
Both use NFC technology in real-world scenarios and both offer one-tap online payments. Fundamentally, the only real difference is the operating system it is running on – if you have an iOS device, you will have to use Apple Pay and if you have an Android device you will have to use Android Pay (or Samsung Pay, if you have a Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge).
Apple Pay does have one feature that Android Pay does not, however: it works on smartwatches (specifically Apple Watch), whereas Android Pay so far only appears to work on Android proper and not Android Wear.
What the article misses, however, are some of the important comparisons between Samsung Pay and Android Pay. This is a little more relevant as those individuals with a Samsung device will have the option of choice in their mobile app, unlike iPhone users. Samsung Pay which will work with both NFC and non-NFC enable merchant terminals and would seem to have a leg up on the competition, however, mobile provider Verizon, the largest seller of Samsung phones in the U.S., is currently not supporting Samsung Pay. This is going to be interesting.
The Android Pay vs. Apple Pay competition demonstrates how smartphone operating systems and device ecosystems can influence consumers’ mobile payment choices. While the two services offer similar core functionality, features such as smartwatch support, merchant acceptance, and compatibility with existing payment terminals can help differentiate competing wallets.
Samsung Pay adds another dimension to the competition because some Android users may have multiple mobile payment options on the same device. Ultimately, widespread adoption will depend not only on technology but also on merchant acceptance, carrier support, device availability, and whether consumers see enough convenience to change their established payment habits.
Overview by Sarah Grotta, Director, Debit Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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