Google wallet - without linking payment method?

[yello]

I feel you. More and more, our lives are being forced towards 'digital solutions', apps etc. I get it, there are advantages, but I'm not a fan and resist the trends, avoid where I can. I'm tech savvy too (well, more than average) but not everyone is nor wants to be. It forces your hand, and your choices. You need (more expensive) compatible devices to run some of these apps etc.

I've used Google wallet, out of interest. I stored my cards on it, and have used my phone to pay. Fun but lost its novelty quickly. A card is, imho, just easier. My cards were stored but not linked as payment methods on my Google account. It wasn't a functionality I needed so why take the risk?

Pay by watch? Now, I could see that as being convenient. Not that I have the dosh to buy such a watch.

But enforced usage for a pass, etc? Nah, I'd not be having that. I know some football clubs are going that route for ticketless ground entry but I know equally that there is significant resistance.

Way of the world innit? Connectivity has its advantages but I personally don't think systems are secure enough just yet and many of these developments are 'because we can' and developed primarily for cost cutting.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

What happens when they get hacked, or your profile gets corrupted, or something just goes wrong. Suddenly you may find you are locked out of your life!

Not really, your cards continue to work just fine. You can suspend cards in the wallet any time. You can delink the wallet at your bank end as well if needs be. If you are with a modern bank you can create digital cards and add those to the wallet. Then in bank app freeze the card when you’re not using it.

 

[Mike_P]

Just installed it as my Boots Advantage card was wanting to link to it.
Immediate advantage being it has allowed me to screenshot the card, something the app will not, so no need for a wifi or data connection to use it in the future.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

My Google Wallet use is 99% in retail situations, very often the cafe queue. Anyone using a card simply presents it for instant payment. Wallet of course refuses the first time, requests authentication and then a second attempt.

We each have a Samsung phone here and we have a slightly different experience.

We simply unlock the phone and hold it to the reader and the transaction happens immediately. No first refusal is the norm.

However, every now and then there is a first refusal.

Maybe this is a built in security feature, a bit like our phones (both set to fingerprint & face recognition) will ask for the occasional PIN entry.

Just guessing, and maybe it varies by phone brand?

 

[PaulSB]

So we're on the second page of replies and nobody knows if Google wallet can be used without a linked payment method?

As for the 'try it and see' suggestions, this involves downloading the app and I suspect clicking agree/accept to multiple T&C's, cookies and access protocols before I even get to the point of refusing to add a payment card, by which time I have already sacrificed any notion of privacy for my smart phone and any data within it.

It may seem stubborn or paranoid of me to try and do this, but it is my right to choose who I do business with and on what terms. I will contact the Motorsport organisation and ask for an alternative form of license. I'm sure I won't be the only one?

My understanding of your post is you don't wish to share debit or credit card details with Google. Possibly I was reading between the lines? I'm happy to share this information but I understand why some people prefer not to.

Perhaps I didn't answer directly enough but in post #3 I suggested using a pre-paid cash card. These don't carry much, if any, personal data of the type you're concerned about and are accepted in Wallet.

I think the answer is you must link a payment method but it doesn't have to be a debit or credit, bank account etc. for those wary of handing over personal information.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

... but I personally don't think systems are secure enough just yet ...

However, major banks prefer you to use Wallets to cards as the process is more secure; as explained upthread.

 

[Alex321]

Way of the world innit? Connectivity has its advantages but I personally don't think systems are secure enough just yet and many of these developments are 'because we can' and developed primarily for cost cutting.

THe banks and credit card companies think it is more secure.

The only way it cuts their costs over you using a physical card is that there is less loss to fraud. It doesn't make the slightest difference to the cost of processing a transaction whether you have used a physical card or used your phone.

This is also why the limit for physical cards contactless is usually still £100 while for using a phone it is much higher.

The people whose business depends on the security of the data think it is better.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Pedantic but important: Google Wallet does not, and cannot, link directly to a bank a/c.

It only holds card information that is linked to a bank a/c.

 

[yello]

However, major banks prefer you to use Wallets to cards as the process is more secure; as explained upthread.

I'm not referring specifically to card transactions, both wallet and card have their own inherent risks so it's kinda pick your poison there. I was referring more to app/data security.

Development platforms provide the tools for you to build an app pretty quickly with a lot of the security being handled for you. I get that, and I see the advantages, but it is akin to black box.

 

[PaulSB]

Pedantic but important: Google Wallet does not, and cannot, link directly to a bank a/c.

It only holds card information that is linked to a bank a/c.

I was going to question this but then did a little bit of Googling first! You can link a bank account but only in the States.

 

[PaulSB]

We each have a Samsung phone here and we have a slightly different experience.

We simply unlock the phone and hold it to the reader and the transaction happens immediately. No first refusal is the norm.

However, every now and then there is a first refusal.

Maybe this is a built in security feature, a bit like our phones (both set to fingerprint & face recognition) will ask for the occasional PIN entry.

Just guessing, and maybe it varies by phone brand?

I really don't know but I will pay a bit more attention to this the next few times I use Wallet. What I can say now is this. I have a Samsung A52s. I'm sitting at my dining room table, the phone is unlocked. If I open Wallet I can see the debit card and credit card I have stored as payment methods. I can select either but when I touch the chosen card I get this:

"For your security, you need to verify that it's you before using tap to pay" There is a "Verify that it's you" button. If I hit that I get the option to verify by fingerprint or lockscreen pattern. A strange one that our experiences are really quite different.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I was going to question this but then did a little bit of Googling first! You can link a bank account but only in the States.

I wonder why that is?

 

[Drago]

So we're on the second page of replies and nobody knows if Google wallet can be used without a linked payment method?

Sentence 2, paragraph 3, post 4.

It's Android, Pixel 8 pro if that makes any difference.

 

[welsh dragon]

My understanding is that wallet is safer than most other payment option's. I have it on my phone and have used it before. Here is an article I found a few days ago about using it. I hope it helps.

 

[Jenkins]

Pedantic but important: Google Wallet does not, and cannot, link directly to a bank a/c.

It only holds card information that is linked to a bank a/c.

PayPal can be linked directly to a bank account rather than a card. I've found that when I pay this way the vendor is paid immediately but it normally takes a couple of days for the money to be taken from the bank account.