Vodafone Pay v Android Pay

[SimonWilding]

Just wanted to say that I have started using Vodafone Pay to use my phone to make contactless payments after experiencing a frustrating time with Android Pay.

VP is much more reliable that AP, which seemed to fail about half the time, especially in certain stores but VP, using the same bank card and device hasn't failed once.

Good work.

[Nabs]

Great to hear some positive feedback!

How do you use the VP system? Have you linked your debit/credit card or do you use PayPal?

[SimonWilding]

Hi,

I linked my debit card to the VP app. You basically install Vodafone Wallet and the VP app, add the bank card and away you go. I've set mine to automatic payment so don't even have to wake the phone up, just tap and go.

[BandOfBrothers]

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@SimonWilding wrote:

Hi,

I linked my debit card to the VP app. You basically install Vodafone Wallet and the VP app, add the bank card and away you go. I've set mine to automatic payment so don't even have to wake the phone up, just tap and go.

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Sounds useful. 

One question > if the phone is mislaid or stolen what's stopping the finder using the phone to pay for items?

[SimonWilding]

Hi Bob,

that is the same problem you would encounter if someone found your contactless bank card on the floor, they can use it to make purchases until you get it blocked, so just report the phone lost/stolen and get it blocked. In the Custmer Services section of the VP app they say tell them and they'll tell your bank to block the card.

There is a back up for the more security conscious, you can set payment type to Manual which means you have to go into the wallet app and select a card to make a payment. This means that not only will anyone who finds your phone have to know how to unlock it, they will need to find the Vodafone Wallet app (which you can also protect with a PIN) and turn on the card. Much safer than using a debit card on it's own.

A quicker way of doing this would be to turn off the NFC SIM then all you have to do to make a payment is unlock the phone and turn the NFC on, saving a few steps/seconds.

Hope that helps

[Nabs]

I tried VP out last year when the ability to add any card was first introduced. It was a very good app and worked exactly as expected. At the time there weren't many contactless terminals near me ( a curse of living in the rural(ish) Scotland) so I stopped using it. 
I also tried AP when it came out just before Christmas and whilst it was convenient my credit card provider doesn't' support it so I have stopped using it because of this.

My local Tesco and Asda have enabled their contactless terminals so it may be worth me revisiting Vodafone's offering.

Do you store any loyalty cards in Vodafone Wallet? If so does that work well?

[Nabs]

@BandOfBrothers as long as you block your phone it should be safe + Assuming you're using an NFC-enabled SIM I believe it can be used offline so poor signal shouldn't be an issue!

[BandOfBrothers]

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@Nabs wrote:

@BandOfBrothers as long as you block your phone it should be safe + Assuming you're using an NFC-enabled SIM I believe it can be used offline so poor signal shouldn't be an issue!

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Cool if one can block it fast enough.  

I'm not sure about the sim you mention. 

I believe mine is powered by the nfc chip in the s7 edge and the asda I frequent is poor for signal so I kinda assumed it's that. 

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @SimonWilding

I've been using android pay on my s7 edge with no issues. 

I'm hoping Samsung Pay hits the UK soon so I can try that. 

May I ask you what shops you've had issues in and experienced the fail ?

[SimonWilding]

The main one I had problems with was Tesco, over half the time using AP didn't work, but using the bank card itself on a contactless basis did. This shows that there was no problem with the machine in the store but with the AP app.