How to pay with your smartphone using a digital wallet

Digital payments are making many everyday activities increasingly fast and paperless, reducing the need to carry cash and physical cards. Digital wallets make it possible to add your payment cards and use them directly from your smartphone for everyday purchases. In many situations, your phone can therefore replace your physical wallet. Let’s take a closer look at what is a digital wallet, how it works, and how to pay with your phone.

What is a digital wallet and how does digital wallet work?

A digital wallet is an app that allows you to store and use your debit, credit, or prepaid cards in digital format. Once added to the wallet, cards can be used directly via a smartphone or other enabled device, without having to carry the physical card with you.

Within the wallet, you can manage multiple cards, set one as the default payment card and, when necessary, select another digitalized card before making a payment.

Enabling your smartphone for payments

To start paying with your phone using a digital wallet, you need a few things:

• a smartphone equipped with NFC technology, which enables short-range communication with contactless POS terminals;
• a payment card supported by the issuing bank;
• a digital wallet supported by your device.

The main digital wallets that allow you to digitalize payment cards include  Apple Pay, Samsung Wallet, Google Pay and Huawei Pay.

The process for adding a card to a digital wallet may vary depending on the card and the wallet being used. In general, the digitalization process can be started in two ways: through your bank’s app or directly from the wallet.

From your bank’s app, when this option is available, you can select the card and choose the option to add it to the wallet. The process then continues in the wallet, where the required steps are completed, such as cardholder verification and acceptance of the terms and conditions, without having to enter the card details manually.

Directly from the wallet, you can add the card by entering the required information. This is followed by cardholder verification and acceptance of the service’s terms and conditions.

Once the activation process has been completed, the card is available in the wallet and can be used to pay with your phone. If multiple cards are stored in the digital wallet, you can set one as the default card or select a different one each time you make a payment.

How do you pay with your phone in physical stores?

Once your card has been digitalized in your wallet, paying in a store only requires a few steps. The process may vary depending on the device and wallet you use, but generally you just need to:

1. authenticate yourself on your smartphone using a PIN, fingerprint, or facial recognition;
2. hold your phone close to the contactless terminal, opening the wallet beforehand when required by the system you are using;
3. wait for confirmation of the transaction, which will be displayed by the terminal and/or your smartphone.

The payment is made contactlessly using NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, which enables the smartphone and the terminal to exchange the information required to complete the transaction over a short distance.

All the benefits of a digital wallet

Using a digital wallet allows you to keep your payment methods directly on your smartphone, offering several advantages for everyday transactions. Contactless payments can be completed in just a few seconds, and there is no need to carry cash or physical cards.

A digital wallet can also make it easier to keep track of your spending: depending on the service you use, you can view transactions directly in the wallet and receive real-time notifications whenever a payment is made.

Another important benefit is security. Digital wallets use card tokenization, which replaces sensitive card information with a digital identifier, or token, used to complete the transaction. This means that the details of the physical card are not shared with the merchant during the payment.

Frequently asked questions about digital wallets and smartphone payments

Can I pay without carrying my physical card?

Yes. Once your card has been added to and activated in your wallet, you can pay with your phone without carrying the physical card with you.

Can a digital wallet work without an internet connection?

Yes, you can make payments even without an active mobile data or Wi-Fi connection. Short-range communication between the smartphone and the merchant’s terminal takes place via NFC technology. An internet connection is, however, required to add a card to the wallet or use certain features.

Is paying with your phone secure?

Yes. Digital wallets use security systems such as tokenization, which replaces the sensitive details of the physical card with a unique digital code (token) used to complete the transaction. This means that the physical card details are not shared with the merchant. This protection is complemented by device authentication systems such as a PIN, fingerprint, or facial recognition, which are used to verify the cardholder’s identity and authorize the payment.

Do digital wallets support BANCOMAT cards?

Yes, cards enabled on the BANCOMAT network can be digitalized and added to digital wallets, although availability depends on the bank that issued the card.

To check whether the service is available and view the list of banks that support it, you can visit the dedicated Apple Pay, Samsung Wallet, Google Pay, and Huawei Pay pages on BANCOMAT website.

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