Android Pay lands in Singapore – with Promotions too

Android Pay lands in Singapore – with Promotions too

Android Pay is now live in Singapore. It’s quite a coup for this small country as a demonstration of it’s financial status and infrastructure setup, as it is the third country, after US and UK, to offer Android Pay.

The principle is similar to Apple Pay, and that of Samsung Pay as well, and opens the convenience of a mobile wallet to users of an Android phone, as long as it has Near Field Communication (NFC), and also Android 4.4 OS and above. How to check if your phone can support Android Pay? Within settings, connections, determine if there’s an NFC option, and for the operating system version, under settings check “About Phone” or “About Device”. Android Pay supports Visa and MasterCard credit or debit cards issued by five major banks here – POSB, DBS Bank, OCBC Bank, United Overseas Bank (UOB) and Standard Chartered Bank.

Key differences is that Android Pay can work without your PIN. It might be convenient but sounds rather scary from a security perspective. You don’t have to open the Android Pay app to make a purchase with your NFC phone; just follow these steps:

  • Wake up and unlock your phone.
  • Hold the back of your phone against the contactless payment terminal.
  • If prompted, choose “Credit” regardless of your type of card.

It will ask you for your PIN after every three consecutive transactions, but You can remotely wipe your device with Android Device Manager.

Perhaps, Android Pay’s most attractive feature is that you can use it to make payment directly within apps, for example Uber, or other e-commerce apps. Another initiative is to include Gift Cards (e.g. Starbucks Singapore, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Toys R Us, Ikea Singapore and many more are all onboard), and loyalty programs. That will really help to slim down the wallet.

Android Pay Promotions

DBS / POSB: Enjoy 25% cashback* on your first 5 Android Pay transactions from now till 30 September 2016.
Android Pay is applicable for DBS/POSB Consumer Visa & MasterCard Credit and Debit Cards only. Business, Corporate and Purchasing Cards issued by DBS are not enabled.
25% cashback is given for the first 5 transactions up to a maximum of S$10 cashback per customer, for the first 10,000 eligible customers who have made at least 1 valid Android Pay transaction. Valid till 30 Sep 2016. Android Pay is applicable for DBS/POSB Consumer Visa & MasterCard Credit and Debit Cards only.

Standard Chartered: Get 20% cashback when you pay using your Standard Chartered Cards with Android Pay.
Subject to a cap of $50 per cardholder. The promotion is valid from 28 June to 28 July 2016 (both dates inclusive). Limited to the first 5,000 cardholders who have enrolled their card and made eligible transactions through Android Pay

McDonalds: McDonald’s, for one, will be introducing a promotion in partnership with Android Pay. From Jul 7 to Aug 3, consumers who pay with Google’s mobile payment system will receive S$2 off when they purchase a minimum of S$6.