Vodafone Wallet, a handy way to pay

[hrym]

I’ve been using Vodafone Wallet for some time and found it a convenient way to pay when the transaction is too small for a card and you don’t want to use cash. Other payment systems are around or on the horizon but, if you don’t have an ApplePay compatible iPhone and don’t want to wait for Android’s offering, this is here and now.

I was involved in the initial trial and had a number of problems, to the extent that I became increasingly frustrated and very nearly gave the whole thing up. However, Smartpass help sorted me out and persuaded me to give it one more try and I’m glad I did. Smartpass is the card that underlies Wallet and handles the transaction side of things. It’s a pre-pay card and you’ll either love or hate that. Personally, I like knowing that if someone gets hold of it, they can only use the money that’s there, and not my full bank balance or credit card limit. You can enable automatic top-up if you want to keep the process seamless but, again, I like the security of having it turned off. In use, topping-up is quick and I’ve often done it while waiting in the queue at the till.

At the moment, Smartpass is the only payment card that can be used with the app, though there is a plug-in that allows you to add loyalty cards. How well this works depends a lot on the shop’s scanning equipment – at the moment, most can’t handle a screen, but you can display the number and work from that.   Loyalty cards don’t connect with the NFC system.

When the system was initially launched, there were few fully compatible devices and most payments had to be made by the stick-on tag.   This worked well, but didn’t feel “proper”. I’ve now upgraded to full NFC and it’s a breeze.

I was fortunate to have a chat with Mark Ryan, the product manager for Wallet and learnt a few things that aren’t widely known.

The first is that NFC payment is now enabled with both Vodafone’s old and new billing systems, meaning that anyone can use it if they have a compatible device. There are different SIMs for each system and you need to make sure you have the right one. The ones for the old system say NFC Legacy on the back of the carrier card. For this reason, it’s advisable to get your SIM from a shop so that you can both check you have the correct one. Legacy SIMs will continue to work when you’re eventually migrated to the new billing system, so there should be no need for a further change.   There have been some reports of shops being perplexed by the provisioning process, but the fact is that they just need to activate the SIM as they would for any other.

Security-wise, there is an advantage in the NFC functionality can be disabled by Customer Services if the phone is lost or stolen.

Moving from tag to NFC is a simple process. Mark sent me my SIM and I activated it via Live Chat as I normally do. Apart from providing the serial number and confirming the size, I didn’t need to do anything else with them.   It came on stream almost immediately and I followed all the prompts about updating my APN (which I doubt I needed to). Calls, texts and data are all fine.

When I opened the Wallet app that I already had installed, it went through an update process and reminded me to turn off wifi so that it could connect securely.   Even though I only had a 2G connection, the process was smooth and quick. I got various prompts that seemed to relate more to a new installation than an existing one, but I hit the purple “do it” buttons, which was what it seemed to want and everything was fine.

The one thing I did notice was that, when Wallet had finished, it was still necessary to open Smartpass and do some setting up there. If I was starting from scratch, this may not have been necessary, but the steps are fairly self-apparent as long as you know to check. In order for NFC payment to work, you need to have it turned on in your device settings (obviously) and the app will prompt you to do that.

The app sets the payment method to “automatic” by default, which means you don’t have to open or interact with it at the till. If you prefer an authorisation button, set it to “manual” and that’ll be available.

Everything appeared to be in place and my first opportunity to use the new system came 24 hours later. It worked easily, but I think you may need to check the location of the phone’s NFC sensor for best positioning.

If you want to protect your account, the easiest way is to turn off NFC on the device.   I’ve checked, and the app will reactivate by itself when you turn it back on.

I was told that, once NFC payment had been set up, the tag would be disabled and I could discard it.   I haven’t tried to use it, but all mention of it disappears from within the app.

For support, you need to distinguish between the two elements: Wallet and Smartpass.   Support for the former is via the Vodafone customer service channels. Some people have reported issues with this, but reminders have gone out and this will hopefully improve. If the issue is with Smartpass, you need to call their dedicated number, which is on the app. I’ve done this a few times and they answer quickly and deal with queries promptly. If you lock yourself out of Smartpass, you can solve this on your own with a password reset.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that, if there’s been an update, or a longish period of inactivity, Smartpass may ask you to log in again, so it’s wise to have your username and password handy at all times.   You can still pay, but you won’t be able to check your balance or top up until you’ve logged back in.

As I’ve got used to contactless payment, I’m finding myself using it more and more. Looking to the future, the one refinement I’d love to see is the option of having an electronic receipt transmitted back to the payment device. Paying by a quick tap still generates till and card receipts and a wad of paper to file – where, when all you have about you is a phone?

[ad47uk]

My bank supports Adnroid pay and so do my phone, but I can not see myself using it, Android is a bit insecure for that, even if I thought contactless payment was the best system in the world.

[Lt_Uhura]

Funny after reading this earlier I received a message on my phone from "Wallet" asking me to use it/register.  I think I need to do a little more research though first although I do appreciate your post/review @hrym

[hrym]

Whether you use this or Android Pay is a matter of preference.  AP wasn't out when I wrote this, but is now.   I'm watching it, but it the card I want to use with it isn't supported yet.  Faced with this competition, I can't see Wallet surviving if it doesn't evolve.

Word to the wise: if you have Wallet and give AP a go, don't forget to turn NFC payment off in the Wallet app settings, or you may get the phone equivelent of card clash.  As far as I can see, you can't turn AP off, other than by turning off NFC.

[hrym]

Since I wrote this, Wallet has indeed evolved and is now a fully-fledged product with a few more features than Android Pay - most notably the option to switch between automatic and manual payment (confirmation each time) and to turn payment off altogether without turning NFC off altogether.  Also, because the payment module is held on the SIM, it'll work even if the phone is off or the battery has died.

Wallet now works in tandem with PayPal which, as I understand it, handles the processing.   This means that you can add your PP account as a "card" if you wish, and also that the system works with any card out of the box.  You don't have to wait for the issuing bank to catch up.   There are also some TFL options for travellers in London, which I haven't investigated.

As a result of the new options, Smartpass is being phased out, so you no longer have to top up your payment method in advance.

It works smoothly in use and a notification pops up shortly after authorisation confirming the amount and venue.   You can also see past payments in your history.   If you use PayPal, you may see two notifications and also receive an email, which does seem like overkill.

The word is that you don't have to have Vodafone-branded firmware on your phone, but not all devices are compatible, even if they're running the latest version of Android.   It looks as though this may be a hardware consideration and it's also possible that the latest models are OK.   There is a compatibility list, but it doesn't seem to be updated regularly.   I would hope that any device Vodafone currently sells (as long as it has NFC) would work, though.