10 Ways to Pay for Things With Your Phone
10 Ways to Pay for Things With Your Phone ![]()
When Snapchat announced Snapcash, a feature enabling users to send cash to one another, they did so with the most monetary-themed musical theater number since Liza Minnelli and **Joel Grey’**s classic from Cabaret.
It got us thinking about all the ways to pay for things with our
phones. With holiday shopping season officially upon us, we put together
a simple breakdown of ten popular app-based ways to make payments. Feel
free to pass this on to anyone who owes you money.
http://amzn.to/2srLiFU
Venmo
Compatibility: iOS and Android
In a Nutshell: Pay anyone through the Venmo network or by using their email or phone number. Payments are deposited into the recipient’s Venmo account, from which they may be withdrawn via a linked bank account. Recipients must download the Venmo app and set up a Venmo account in order to accept payments.
In a Nutshell: Pay anyone through the Venmo network or by using their email or phone number. Payments are deposited into the recipient’s Venmo account, from which they may be withdrawn via a linked bank account. Recipients must download the Venmo app and set up a Venmo account in order to accept payments.
http://amzn.to/2sGrJvE
Payment Comes From: Your Venmo account; linked bank account; debit card; or credit card.
Fees: No fees for payments from your Venmo account, bank account, or major debit cards; you’ll be charged a three percent fee for payments from linked to credit cards or some debit cards.
Limits: $300 weekly sending limit, which goes up to $2,999.99 once you confirm your identity. No receiving limit. Confirmed users can withdraw up to $20,000 per week from Venmo to your bank account.
Fun Features: It’s a social network, so if you make your payment “public,” others can comment on and “like” your payment activities.
Hypothetical Use: Olivia, a producer at a digital agency, pays her coworker $50 for two extra tickets to a They Might Be Giants show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. A mutual friend comments, “Wait, like that Istanbul (Not Constantinople) band?”
Fees: No fees for payments from your Venmo account, bank account, or major debit cards; you’ll be charged a three percent fee for payments from linked to credit cards or some debit cards.
Limits: $300 weekly sending limit, which goes up to $2,999.99 once you confirm your identity. No receiving limit. Confirmed users can withdraw up to $20,000 per week from Venmo to your bank account.
Fun Features: It’s a social network, so if you make your payment “public,” others can comment on and “like” your payment activities.
Hypothetical Use: Olivia, a producer at a digital agency, pays her coworker $50 for two extra tickets to a They Might Be Giants show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. A mutual friend comments, “Wait, like that Istanbul (Not Constantinople) band?”
http://amzn.to/2sryvmZ
Square Cash
Compatibility: iOS and Android
In a Nutshell: Pay anyone using their email address or phone number. Payments are deposited directly into the recipient's bank account. Recipients must download the Square Cash app and link a bank account to the app to accept payments.
Payment Comes From: Your bank account linked to a U.S.-issued Visa or MasterCard debit card
Fees: None
Limits: $250 weekly sending limit and $1,000 per 30-day receiving limit, which goes up to $2,500 sending and unlimited receiving once you confirm your identity.
Fun features: The latest iOS version of the Square Cash app includes a Nearby feature, which lets you use the iPhone’s geolocation technology to send cash to users nearby.
Hypothetical Use: Emily, a partner at a West Coast venture capital fund, requests “$100 for Tahoe Bike Rental” from a prospect she has invited out to “hang out” at her vacation home for a long weekend. The prospect responds by sending “$100 for Tahoe Bike Rental.”
In a Nutshell: Pay anyone using their email address or phone number. Payments are deposited directly into the recipient's bank account. Recipients must download the Square Cash app and link a bank account to the app to accept payments.
Payment Comes From: Your bank account linked to a U.S.-issued Visa or MasterCard debit card
Fees: None
Limits: $250 weekly sending limit and $1,000 per 30-day receiving limit, which goes up to $2,500 sending and unlimited receiving once you confirm your identity.
Fun features: The latest iOS version of the Square Cash app includes a Nearby feature, which lets you use the iPhone’s geolocation technology to send cash to users nearby.
Hypothetical Use: Emily, a partner at a West Coast venture capital fund, requests “$100 for Tahoe Bike Rental” from a prospect she has invited out to “hang out” at her vacation home for a long weekend. The prospect responds by sending “$100 for Tahoe Bike Rental.”
Snapcash
Compatibility: iOSand Android
In a Nutshell: Pay anyone using Snapchat. Payments are deposited directly into the recipient's bank account. Recipients must link a bank account to Snapchat and enable Snapcash to accept payments. (Note: Because Snapcash is powered by Square’s Cash platform, it basically works the same way but with Snapchat instead of an email address or phone number.)
Payment Comes From: Your bank account linked to a U.S.-issued Visa or MasterCard debit card
Fees: None http://amzn.to/2srJAo6
In a Nutshell: Pay anyone using Snapchat. Payments are deposited directly into the recipient's bank account. Recipients must link a bank account to Snapchat and enable Snapcash to accept payments. (Note: Because Snapcash is powered by Square’s Cash platform, it basically works the same way but with Snapchat instead of an email address or phone number.)
Payment Comes From: Your bank account linked to a U.S.-issued Visa or MasterCard debit card
Fees: None http://amzn.to/2srJAo6
Limits: $250 weekly sending limit
and $1,000 per 30-day receiving limit, which goes up to $2,500 sending
and unlimited receiving once you confirm your identity.
Fun features: You can cue up a friend’s account, and then swipe three fingers up to make it rain a dollar at a time onto your friend’s phone.
Hypothetical Use: An eighteen-year-old girl (although you can use Snapchat at thirteen, one must be eighteen and over to send Snapcash) pays her brother $15 to split the cost of a bull-shaped salt-and-pepper-shaker tchotchke that, according to her brother, would be “perfect for Mom.” Yes, this hypothetical comes straight from the official Snapcash video.http://amzn.to/2rMsgZ1
Fun features: You can cue up a friend’s account, and then swipe three fingers up to make it rain a dollar at a time onto your friend’s phone.
Hypothetical Use: An eighteen-year-old girl (although you can use Snapchat at thirteen, one must be eighteen and over to send Snapcash) pays her brother $15 to split the cost of a bull-shaped salt-and-pepper-shaker tchotchke that, according to her brother, would be “perfect for Mom.” Yes, this hypothetical comes straight from the official Snapcash video.http://amzn.to/2rMsgZ1
Dwolla
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Web
In a Nutshell: Pay anyone through the Dwolla network or by using their email or phone numbers. Payments are deposited into the recipient’s Dwolla account, from where they may be withdrawn to a linked bank account. Recipients must set up a Dwolla account in order to accept payments.
Payment Comes From: Your Dwolla account; or directly from your bank account (no debit or credit cards).
Fees: No fee for payments under $10, and recipients pay a flat fee of 25 cents for every transaction over $10 (which sender may elect to pay).
Limits: $5,000 per transaction limits for individuals; $10,000 per transaction limit for businesses and other organizations.
Fun features: Automatic recurring payments; pay up to 5,000 people at once.
Hypothetical Use: Shelly, an editor at a downtown design magazine, rents three apartments in her building in New York’s Flatiron neighborhood from a landlord who now lives in Palm Springs. She Airbnbs two of those apartments year-round, as well as her own apartment when she’s out of town. After years of mailing checks to Palm Springs, she finally convinced her landlord to accept recurrent rent payments for all three apartments on the first of each month using the automatic payment feature on Dwolla.http://amzn.to/2tjNhfF
In a Nutshell: Pay anyone through the Dwolla network or by using their email or phone numbers. Payments are deposited into the recipient’s Dwolla account, from where they may be withdrawn to a linked bank account. Recipients must set up a Dwolla account in order to accept payments.
Payment Comes From: Your Dwolla account; or directly from your bank account (no debit or credit cards).
Fees: No fee for payments under $10, and recipients pay a flat fee of 25 cents for every transaction over $10 (which sender may elect to pay).
Limits: $5,000 per transaction limits for individuals; $10,000 per transaction limit for businesses and other organizations.
Fun features: Automatic recurring payments; pay up to 5,000 people at once.
Hypothetical Use: Shelly, an editor at a downtown design magazine, rents three apartments in her building in New York’s Flatiron neighborhood from a landlord who now lives in Palm Springs. She Airbnbs two of those apartments year-round, as well as her own apartment when she’s out of town. After years of mailing checks to Palm Springs, she finally convinced her landlord to accept recurrent rent payments for all three apartments on the first of each month using the automatic payment feature on Dwolla.http://amzn.to/2tjNhfF
PayPal
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Web
In a Nutshell: Pay anyone with a PayPal account or by using their email or phone number. Payments are deposited into the recipient’s PayPal account, from which they may be withdrawn to a linked bank account. Recipients must set up a PayPal account in order to accept payments.http://amzn.to/2shJaC3
In a Nutshell: Pay anyone with a PayPal account or by using their email or phone number. Payments are deposited into the recipient’s PayPal account, from which they may be withdrawn to a linked bank account. Recipients must set up a PayPal account in order to accept payments.http://amzn.to/2shJaC3
Payment Comes From: Your PayPal account; linked bank account; debit card; or credit card
Fees: None for personal payments from your PayPal account or a linked bank account; fee for personal payment using a debit card or credit card is 2.9 percent of the total amount you send, plus a flat 30 cents (which may be paid by either the sender or recipient). When you buy goods or services, the recipient of your payment pays a fee for each transaction which is 2.9 percent of the total amount plus a flat 30 cents.http://amzn.to/2sJTMes
Fees: None for personal payments from your PayPal account or a linked bank account; fee for personal payment using a debit card or credit card is 2.9 percent of the total amount you send, plus a flat 30 cents (which may be paid by either the sender or recipient). When you buy goods or services, the recipient of your payment pays a fee for each transaction which is 2.9 percent of the total amount plus a flat 30 cents.http://amzn.to/2sJTMes
Limits: $10,000 per transaction
limit (after verification). $500.00 per month initial limit on the
amount you withdraw from your PayPal account, which is lifted once you
verify your account.
Fun features: Since PayPal is the O.G. granddaddy in the payment space, the most fun thing about it is that you can make and receive payments from 203 countries and in 26 currencies (whereas all the other USD platforms are limited to processing payments within the USA).
Hypothetical Use: Carlotta, a celebrity DJ, buys a pair of vintage Margiela boots on eBay from a newly destitute viscountess in Antwerp; she pays using PayPal. http://amzn.to/2rMLNbz
Fun features: Since PayPal is the O.G. granddaddy in the payment space, the most fun thing about it is that you can make and receive payments from 203 countries and in 26 currencies (whereas all the other USD platforms are limited to processing payments within the USA).
Hypothetical Use: Carlotta, a celebrity DJ, buys a pair of vintage Margiela boots on eBay from a newly destitute viscountess in Antwerp; she pays using PayPal. http://amzn.to/2rMLNbz
LevelUp
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Windows Phone
In a Nutshell: Pay participating businesses by either scanning your in-app QR code or tapping your Near Field Communication (NFC)–enabled phone on the business’s LevelUp white box scanner.http://amzn.to/2sGvSQc
Payment Comes From: Your linked debit card or credit card
Fees: None for you; participating businesses are charged 1.95 percent of the transaction amount (but do not pay any additional interchange fees).
Limits: No payment limitshttp://amzn.to/2srENCV
Fun features: Discounts at participating businesses for first-time use and other rewards
Hypothetical Use: Binta, a mid-twenties gal about town, leaves a super-chic fitness studio and heads for the nearest Organic Avenue for a juice. She pays by tapping her iPhone on the white LevelUp box at the checkout counter.
In a Nutshell: Pay participating businesses by either scanning your in-app QR code or tapping your Near Field Communication (NFC)–enabled phone on the business’s LevelUp white box scanner.http://amzn.to/2sGvSQc
Payment Comes From: Your linked debit card or credit card
Fees: None for you; participating businesses are charged 1.95 percent of the transaction amount (but do not pay any additional interchange fees).
Limits: No payment limitshttp://amzn.to/2srENCV
Fun features: Discounts at participating businesses for first-time use and other rewards
Hypothetical Use: Binta, a mid-twenties gal about town, leaves a super-chic fitness studio and heads for the nearest Organic Avenue for a juice. She pays by tapping her iPhone on the white LevelUp box at the checkout counter.
Softcard
Compatibility: Android and Windows Phone with NFC; a Softcard-powered, Amex-only app named Serve is available on Android and iOS.
In a Nutshell: Pay at participating businesses by tapping your NFC-enabled phone on a Softcard reader.http://amzn.to/2srRAoU
Payment Comes From: Your linked debit card or credit card, or you can deposit a prepaid amount on your Softcard from a debit or credit card or bank account.http://amzn.to/2sJVkoZ
Fees: None to use Softcard to pay. If you choose to fund a prepaid account with a credit card, you will pay standard cash advance fees on your credit card. Participating businesses are not charged independent fees for using Softcard platforms and continue being charged the standard interchange fees associated with the underlying cards.
http://amzn.to/2tEn4roLimits: No payment limit. Various limits apply for all payments from your linked bank account and debit or credit card on Serve.
Fun features: You can add your existing loyalty or reward cards; Softcard has a gallery of money-saving offers from participating merchants.
Hypothetical Use: Danielle, a managing director at an investment bank who recently bought a place above the Whole Foods on Twenty-third Street, walks into said Whole Foods following an early evening run along the West Side Highway and pays for organic snacks by tapping her Galaxy Note 4 on the Softcard sensor at the checkout counter. http://amzn.to/2shzGXn
In a Nutshell: Pay at participating businesses by tapping your NFC-enabled phone on a Softcard reader.http://amzn.to/2srRAoU
Payment Comes From: Your linked debit card or credit card, or you can deposit a prepaid amount on your Softcard from a debit or credit card or bank account.http://amzn.to/2sJVkoZ
Fees: None to use Softcard to pay. If you choose to fund a prepaid account with a credit card, you will pay standard cash advance fees on your credit card. Participating businesses are not charged independent fees for using Softcard platforms and continue being charged the standard interchange fees associated with the underlying cards.
http://amzn.to/2tEn4roLimits: No payment limit. Various limits apply for all payments from your linked bank account and debit or credit card on Serve.
Fun features: You can add your existing loyalty or reward cards; Softcard has a gallery of money-saving offers from participating merchants.
Hypothetical Use: Danielle, a managing director at an investment bank who recently bought a place above the Whole Foods on Twenty-third Street, walks into said Whole Foods following an early evening run along the West Side Highway and pays for organic snacks by tapping her Galaxy Note 4 on the Softcard sensor at the checkout counter. http://amzn.to/2shzGXn
Apple Pay
Compatibility: iOS (only on iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, or the coming Apple Watch) http://amzn.to/2sGMF5x
In a Nutshell: Pay at participating businesses by holding one of the newest Apple devices near the NFC sensor while validating with Touch ID, the fingerprint-recognition feature. Pay within participating apps on your device with a single touch, too.http://amzn.to/2tjEKcA
Payment Comes From: Your credit or debit card, linked through the Passbook app. http://amzn.to/2tEtAhD
Fees: None for paying with Apple Pay. Participating businesses are not charged independent fees for using Apple Pay and continue being charged the standard interchange fees associated with the underlying cards.
Limits: No payment limit http://amzn.to/2tjqsst
Fun features: With Touch ID, you don’t have to actually look at your phone when you’re making a payment (a subtle vibration and beep let you know the deal is done), so you can close your eyes as you splurge; anonymous payment, so the person at the checkout counter never finds out that you’re actually not the celebrity you look like. http://amzn.to/2rMIOzZ
Hypothetical Use: Felicity buys something from the Marc Jacobs store on the Spring app and pays using Apple Pay. That’s actually not a hypothetical use. That just happened. http://amzn.to/2srOVvs
In a Nutshell: Pay at participating businesses by holding one of the newest Apple devices near the NFC sensor while validating with Touch ID, the fingerprint-recognition feature. Pay within participating apps on your device with a single touch, too.http://amzn.to/2tjEKcA
Payment Comes From: Your credit or debit card, linked through the Passbook app. http://amzn.to/2tEtAhD
Fees: None for paying with Apple Pay. Participating businesses are not charged independent fees for using Apple Pay and continue being charged the standard interchange fees associated with the underlying cards.
Limits: No payment limit http://amzn.to/2tjqsst
Fun features: With Touch ID, you don’t have to actually look at your phone when you’re making a payment (a subtle vibration and beep let you know the deal is done), so you can close your eyes as you splurge; anonymous payment, so the person at the checkout counter never finds out that you’re actually not the celebrity you look like. http://amzn.to/2rMIOzZ
Hypothetical Use: Felicity buys something from the Marc Jacobs store on the Spring app and pays using Apple Pay. That’s actually not a hypothetical use. That just happened. http://amzn.to/2srOVvs
Google Wallet
Compatibility: Android, Web, and iOS
In a Nutshell: Pay at participating businesses by using NFC-enabled Android phones, at certain online merchants, and inside select android apps; and send money to anyone who has a Gmail account. http://amzn.to/2shOeqe
Payment Comes From: Your Google Wallet account, or a linked credit card, debit card, or bank account http://amzn.to/2tjs3OG
Fees: None for using Google Wallet to pay at participating merchants, online, and in apps. Participating businesses are not charged the standard interchange fees associated with the underlying cards. For sending money to people, there is no fee if the transfer is funded with your Google Wallet Account or a bank account (via ACH), but when you send money using a debit card or a credit card, you will be charged 2.9 percent of the transaction amount, with a minimum fee of 30 cents. http://amzn.to/2srEZSP
Limits: No limit on payments to businesses. There is a daily peer-to-peer sending limit and a withdrawal limit of $10,000, and a $50,000 transfer limit per five-day period. http://amzn.to/2rMzuMm
Fun features: If you happen to ever need actual greenbacks, you can use it to withdraw cash at an ATM. http://amzn.to/2shCWlG
Hypothetical Use: Emma, a senior software engineer at Google (and Google employee number 43), sends $10,000 to Dorothy, a marketer in Google’s marketing department, along with this Gmail message: “D—Should we be focusing millennial marketing on our insanely high P2P transfer limit?? I just sent you 10k. You can’t do that on Snapchat, right? 2.5k cap, just checked their terms. Btw: pls send back my money—just making a point.—E”
In a Nutshell: Pay at participating businesses by using NFC-enabled Android phones, at certain online merchants, and inside select android apps; and send money to anyone who has a Gmail account. http://amzn.to/2shOeqe
Payment Comes From: Your Google Wallet account, or a linked credit card, debit card, or bank account http://amzn.to/2tjs3OG
Fees: None for using Google Wallet to pay at participating merchants, online, and in apps. Participating businesses are not charged the standard interchange fees associated with the underlying cards. For sending money to people, there is no fee if the transfer is funded with your Google Wallet Account or a bank account (via ACH), but when you send money using a debit card or a credit card, you will be charged 2.9 percent of the transaction amount, with a minimum fee of 30 cents. http://amzn.to/2srEZSP
Limits: No limit on payments to businesses. There is a daily peer-to-peer sending limit and a withdrawal limit of $10,000, and a $50,000 transfer limit per five-day period. http://amzn.to/2rMzuMm
Fun features: If you happen to ever need actual greenbacks, you can use it to withdraw cash at an ATM. http://amzn.to/2shCWlG
Hypothetical Use: Emma, a senior software engineer at Google (and Google employee number 43), sends $10,000 to Dorothy, a marketer in Google’s marketing department, along with this Gmail message: “D—Should we be focusing millennial marketing on our insanely high P2P transfer limit?? I just sent you 10k. You can’t do that on Snapchat, right? 2.5k cap, just checked their terms. Btw: pls send back my money—just making a point.—E”
Blockchain Bitcoin Wallet
Compatibility: Android, iOS, Web
In a Nutshell: Pay anyone who accepts Bitcoin (a decentralized, peer-to-peer currency) at their unique Bitcoin address (a 26-to-35-character alphanumeric identifier, which you can load into the app by scanning a recipient’s QR code).
Payment Comes From: Your Bitcoin wallet, which doesn’t technically contain Bitcoins, but rather holds the private key required to authorize the transfer of the Bitcoins you own. You can obtain Bitcoins by accepting Bitcoin payments from others or buying Bitcoins with funds from bank accounts, cash, or other sources (and the app includes instructions for buying Bitcoins).
Fees: Transaction fees are completely voluntary for the sender, and bitcoin miners (the folks behind the computers that add bitcoin transactions to the public record and solve complicated mathematical equations to “mine” new bitcoins) generally do not expect to receive fees for processing typical peer-to-peer transactions. For more complex transactions, like transfers from multiple sources, Bitcoin miners do, however, expect to receive a transaction fee, so there’s an incentive for initiators to include a fee in order to incentivize Bitcoin miners to process the transaction. http://amzn.to/2sGBgTk
Limits: None. But since Bitcoin is a new and highly experimental currency, before using Bitcoins, you should educate yourself about numerous risks associated with security, volatility, taxes, and other regulations. This document published by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is a good starting point. http://amzn.to/2tjASIk
Fun features: A Bitcoin can be divided down to eight decimal places. The smallest fraction of a Bitcoin that can currently be sent—0.00000001 (that’s a hundredth of a millionth of a Bitcoin)—is called a “Satoshi.” But, let’s face it, an even more fun feature is that asking if you can “pay in Bitcoins” is just about the opposite of basic. http://amzn.to/2tjMUkX
Hypothetical Use Case: Lisbeth, a brilliant but deeply troubled hacker, purchases a bespoke black leather jacket for the older man she loves from a legendary tailor in Stockholm; she pays using Bitcoins. http://amzn.to/2rMsgIc
In a Nutshell: Pay anyone who accepts Bitcoin (a decentralized, peer-to-peer currency) at their unique Bitcoin address (a 26-to-35-character alphanumeric identifier, which you can load into the app by scanning a recipient’s QR code).
Payment Comes From: Your Bitcoin wallet, which doesn’t technically contain Bitcoins, but rather holds the private key required to authorize the transfer of the Bitcoins you own. You can obtain Bitcoins by accepting Bitcoin payments from others or buying Bitcoins with funds from bank accounts, cash, or other sources (and the app includes instructions for buying Bitcoins).
Fees: Transaction fees are completely voluntary for the sender, and bitcoin miners (the folks behind the computers that add bitcoin transactions to the public record and solve complicated mathematical equations to “mine” new bitcoins) generally do not expect to receive fees for processing typical peer-to-peer transactions. For more complex transactions, like transfers from multiple sources, Bitcoin miners do, however, expect to receive a transaction fee, so there’s an incentive for initiators to include a fee in order to incentivize Bitcoin miners to process the transaction. http://amzn.to/2sGBgTk
Limits: None. But since Bitcoin is a new and highly experimental currency, before using Bitcoins, you should educate yourself about numerous risks associated with security, volatility, taxes, and other regulations. This document published by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is a good starting point. http://amzn.to/2tjASIk
Fun features: A Bitcoin can be divided down to eight decimal places. The smallest fraction of a Bitcoin that can currently be sent—0.00000001 (that’s a hundredth of a millionth of a Bitcoin)—is called a “Satoshi.” But, let’s face it, an even more fun feature is that asking if you can “pay in Bitcoins” is just about the opposite of basic. http://amzn.to/2tjMUkX
Hypothetical Use Case: Lisbeth, a brilliant but deeply troubled hacker, purchases a bespoke black leather jacket for the older man she loves from a legendary tailor in Stockholm; she pays using Bitcoins. http://amzn.to/2rMsgIc
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