Android Pay: what is it and how to use it in Russia. Why Android Pay doesn't work How the Android Pay app works

If you have an Android phone, then I have good news, Android Pay payments have started working in Russia, you can try to pay directly from your phone without taking the card out of your wallet. In principle, it was possible before to pay for purchases using a smartphone on Android, for example, Tinkoff Bank supports such operations, but to do this you need to launch the application every time, confirm the payment, performing unnecessary actions.

Which banks support?

So far, the list of banks consists of such organizations; subsequently it will grow.

• "Alfa Bank";
• Ak Bars Bank;
• "Binbank" (at the time of launch only MasterCard);
• "VTB 24";
• ​"MTS-Bank";
• Otkritie (including Rocketbank and Tochka);
• Promsvyazbank;
• Raiffeisenbank;
• Rosselkhozbank;
• “Russian Standard” (at the time of launch only MasterCard);
• "Sberbank";
• Tinkoff Bank;
• "Yandex.Money" (MasterCard only).

What phones support it?

I’ll be too tired to list all the Android smartphones here, the main thing is that there is NFC support, and the phone has Android 4.4 and higher. In addition, the list of requirements includes the presence of official firmware, no custom ones. Also, the phone must be without root and without an unlocked bootloader. If you don’t know what it is, that’s great, but if you’ve already dug into the phone’s internals, then don’t be surprised that there may be problems.

NFC works in most mid-range phones, but there are problems with budget models; there are not many options with NFC. It’s clear that if you have a top-end Galaxy or Xiaomi, then this issue is not discussed; you will have NFC.

Accordingly, do not forget to enable NFC in the settings. And don’t worry, this function does not consume battery power.

Where can I get the application?

In theory, the program can be found on Google Play, but at the time of preparation of the material, the utility could not be found by search. I think that after the official launch there should be no problems. Here is the link to the Android Pay app.

How to set up your phone?

The process of setting up the phone is simple, just enter the CVV code and that’s it - the application will take the rest of the card data from your Google account if you previously added a card for purchases on Google Play. If you didn’t add it, then the process will take a little longer. Open the application, enter the card details: number, owner’s name, CVC code. Or use the camera for this, the phone will scan everything itself without unnecessary steps.

Confirmation may also require you to enter your fingerprint and PIN code for added security.

You can enter several cards, and when paying, select the one you need in the application.

Do I need to pay for anything else?

No, the service is free, no commissions or subscription fees.

Where should I shop?

Yes, in principle, anywhere, as long as the terminals support the PayPass and PayWave systems. Bring your phone to the terminal and pay; for purchases up to 1000 rubles, a PIN code is not required, but sometimes you need to indicate it or sign on a receipt. If the operation was successful, you will hear a signal confirming the payment. Then you will receive an SMS with the remaining money on your balance, if, of course, such a service is connected.

It is safe?

Yes. During payment, a one-time code is created, and the card data is not used. Even if someone intercepts this information, it will give the attacker nothing, useless data.

Opinion

I couldn’t add the Sberbank Master Card, but everything was fine with the Alfa Bank and Tinkoff VISA.

I have been using Apple Pay for a long time, and from time to time I paid through the Tinkoff app on Android phones. Turning your smartphone into a payment system is a great idea, especially when used in conjunction with a watch. I applied it and moved on; for shopping in stores, I couldn’t think of a way to part with finances more easily. The main thing is that the terminals work and everything is set up, otherwise problems arise from time to time, and some establishments in Moscow still operate only in cash. It’s not possible to completely say goodbye to paper money, but life is becoming more convenient, that’s a fact.

For stores, tech-savvy people are a godsend. Shoppers are more likely to make purchases simply because they like a new way to spend their money. This time. The second point is that people go through the checkouts faster, there is less hassle, more sales. The third point is reliability, simplicity and mobility.

Brief instructions for the payment system from Google.

To bookmarks

On May 23, 2017, from 9:00 Moscow time, the Android Pay payment system will be available in Russia. It has existed since September 2015, Russia became the 11th region in which the system started working. Here it is available to clients of more than 10 banks who use Visa and Mastercard cards.

What is Android Pay for?

Android Pay is a contactless payment system that allows you to link a regular bank card to the application, and then use the service on a smartphone or smart watch to pay for goods and services. In addition, you can use it to pay in applications on mobile devices (for example, Uber).

The technology allows you not to carry all your bank cards with you, replacing them with one application on your smartphone. Android Pay does not charge a commission from the user - the amount indicated on the receipt is debited from the buyer's account.

What cards can be connected to Android Pay

At launch in Russia, Android Pay works with more than ten banks. This list includes:

• "Alfa Bank";
• Ak Bars Bank;
• "Binbank" (at the time of launch only MasterCard);
• "VTB 24";
• ​"MTS-Bank";
• Otkritie (including Rocketbank and Tochka);
• Promsvyazbank (at the time of launch only MasterCard);
• Raiffeisenbank;
• Rosselkhozbank;
• “Russian Standard” (at the time of launch only MasterCard);
• "Sberbank";
• Tinkoff Bank;
• "Yandex.Money" (MasterCard only).

This list will be expanded in the future.

Which devices is Android Pay available on?

Android Pay can be connected to devices with an NFC chip that run Android KitKat (4.4) and later - Lollipop (5.0, 5.1), Marshmallow (6.0) and Nougat (7.0, 7.1).

An important condition is that the device must have official firmware installed, and must not have root rights and the bootloader must not be unlocked. Typically, these actions are performed when changing the firmware.

How to connect a card to Android Pay

To use Android Pay, you need to download the application of the same name from the Google Play Store. Some Russian users had access to it back in early May 2017.

When you first launch the Android Pay application, you will be prompted to connect a card - to do this, you need to either point the camera at it so that the service reads the number and expiration date, or enter the information manually. You will also need the CVV code on the back of the card and the user's address. When connecting the card, the bank will send a verification code to confirm the operation.

If the user has already connected cards to his Google account (for example, to pay in an app store), then Android Pay will offer to use one of them - to link to the application, you will only need to enter the CVV code.

Where and how to pay via Android Pay

Payment via Android Pay is available almost everywhere where there are terminals that support contactless payments (including through cards with PayPass and PayWave technologies). We are talking about terminals, which are indicated by similar symbols:

In Russia, such terminals are available in almost every retail chain - Azbuka Vkusa, Pyaterochka, Perekrestok, Karusel, Magnit, OK, Eldorado, H&M, Starbucks, KFC, Burger King", "Teremok", "Doubleby", "Rosneft", "Bashneft" and so on. By the end of 2017, Sberbank, which services 1.1 million terminals, promises to add the possibility of contactless payment to all its devices.

To pay for goods and services, you need to “wake up” the device with the Android Pay application and bring it to the terminal for a few seconds. If the operation is successful, a message about this and an image of the card used will appear on the screen.

In some cases, the cashier may ask you to enter a PIN or sign a receipt. This depends on the settings of the bank that issued the card and the terminal. As a rule, in Russia, when making contactless payments, you need to enter a PIN code for transactions amounting to more than 1,000 rubles.

Android Pay allows you to carry out three transactions in a row without unlocking the phone for an amount of up to 1000 rubles each; on the fourth, the user will need to unlock the phone using a pattern or fingerprint. The transaction “counter” is reset if the user has unlocked the phone between them.

If the user has connected several cards, then one of them will need to be selected as the standard one, which will be used by default. To use another card, before paying, you need to open the application and select the desired card - if necessary, it can be designated as standard for the future.

How to pay with Android Pay in apps and websites

Android Pay can also be used to pay for purchases in some mobile apps and websites via the mobile version of Google Chrome. In such cases, the “Pay via Android Pay” button will appear on the payment page.

In some services (for example, Uber), you can use Android Pay as one of the permanent means of payment. At the start of the system in Russia, the service will be available in Lamoda, OneTwoTrip, Rambler/Kassa and Afisha, and later will appear in Delivery Club, Kinokhod, Ozon, Yandex.Taxi and other applications.

Last time, after turning off data transfer, I tried to pay for coffee with my phone - it worked. Therefore, the Internet is not needed for Android Pay. But then a dispute arose: is a network necessary in principle? Do I need to transfer any data to the phone or does payment take place offline?

Today, when I stopped for coffee, I turned off the network altogether, selecting “airplane mode”. All transmitters immediately switched off. Having launched the NFC unit manually, I headed to the checkout to pay for my purchase.

I brought the phone to the terminal and... the payment went through!

Android Pay can work offline. At least for a while.

Here is an excerpt from the 4pda forum:

Android Pay's security technology is no fundamentally different from that of Apple Pay or Samsung Pay. It is based on the principle of tokenization, when for each transaction in the “cloud” a unique set of symbols is generated - a token - instead of the real details of a payment card connected to the service. This doesn't mean that every payment using Android Pay will require an internet connection. Tokens are generated in advance when the application is synchronized with servers, stored in the device’s memory and “retrieved” from there when making a payment.

How many tokens are stored in the application is still unclear, but I know for sure that there are much more of them than I can spend in a day. From the 20th to the 26th I have no mobile Internet and my phone communicates with the network exclusively through home Wi-Fi.

Android Pay is a free and convenient mobile payment service developed by Google for Android device owners.

Downloading Android Pay is recommended for every user, because the software allows you to make purchases and pay for services in any convenient place where NFC contactless payment technology is supported, as well as in applications and the Internet.

Android Pay will help you further expand the capabilities of your gadget and keep all your debit, credit and loyalty cards in one place. To pay in a store, there is no need to even go into the application; you just need to make sure that the smartphone is unlocked and bring it to the terminal.

And to pay online, you no longer need to enter data every time - just select a service among payment methods and save time.

Peculiarities:

• physical security with mandatory fingerprint scanning, entering a graphic key or digital password;
• creating a virtual account number representing and storing user account information;
• sending a randomly generated one-time code instead of user data when making a payment;
• smart authentication to determine the security system of the device being used.

The main requirements for working with Android Pay are a version of the Android mobile operating system 4.4 and higher, support for NFC technology on the gadget, as well as a card from a bank that has entered into an agreement with the creator of the service to provide similar services to its clients.

If you add a card from a bank that is not a partner of the system, you will not be able to use and register it. Android Pay will not work if your device:

1. Pre-installed OS Android 4.3 and below, or version for developers.
2. Hacking with root access rights, custom firmware, or the standard settings of the OS itself have been changed.
3. The Samsung MyKnox application is installed.
4. There was no verification from Google.
5. The operating system bootloader is unlocked.

If the user already has cards linked to his Google account, he can immediately add them to Android Pay. If there are none, you will have to enter all the data yourself.

By the way, users have noticed frequent errors when trying to use the gadget’s camera to enter information from cards, so it is better to immediately enter the details manually. The card will be confirmed either by message or by calling a bank representative.

Although the purchases themselves can be made without connecting to the network, after some time they will still require a connection to it. The latter is due to the fact that, unlike other similar services, Android Pay stores all transaction data not in the gadget’s memory, but in a virtual cloud.

Downloading Android Pay to your mobile device, smartphone or tablet, is recommended for anyone who wants to quickly and easily pay for any purchases directly from their phone.

The program changed its name to Google Pay.

Android Pay is an electronic payment system from Google, which is built into smartphones based on the Android operating system and allows the owner to pay for goods and services using his phone at all retail outlets where contactless payments are accepted.

Android Pay can be compared to your personal digital wallet on your phone, where you can add all your credit and debit cards, as well as discount cards from your favorite stores. Officially, the Android Pay payment system was launched in Russia on May 23, 2017, although it was introduced in 2015 and already worked in many countries, such as the USA, Great Britain, Japan, and Ireland.

Android Pay requires your phone (or smartwatch) to have NFC, a short-range wireless data transfer technology.

Paying for purchases using Android Pay is incredibly easy and convenient. You only need two steps:

1. Unlock your mobile phone.
2. Bring your phone to the payment terminal.

In some cases, usually with large purchases, android pay may additionally ask you to enter your card PIN code or your phone's lock PIN code.

You can use a linked bonus card (loyalty card) by opening the Android Pay application and selecting the required loyalty card - then show the barcode to the cashier. The cashier simply reads the barcode of your card. (If for some reason the cashier cannot read the barcode of your bonus card, you can simply tell him its number, it will be indicated next to it).

Already now, at the time the system opens, you can link bonus cards to Android Pay from Pyaterochka, Karusel, Detsky Mir stores, Lukoil, Gazprom gas station chains and many other retail outlets. A complete list of companies can be found at.

To use Google's payment system, you need to download the official Android Pay application from the Google Play Market and link your card (or several cards) in the application.

Make sure that the NFC payment function is enabled on your phone, go to your phone's settings and turn on the switch next to the NFC function. It is also advisable to enable the Android Beam function (its setting is located below).

2) Add a credit or debit card from a bank that supports Android Pay to the application.

To add a card, you need to take a photo of the card to recognize its number, or enter the card number yourself.

You will also need to enter the card's expiration date and its CVC code.

3) Confirm the activation of Android Pay using SMS, which will be sent to your phone number linked to the card by the bank that issued your card.

If you did everything correctly, launch the Android Pay application and you will see your card.

To add store loyalty cards, click on the plus sign in the lower right screen of the application and select - add a loyalty card, then enter the name of the store and point the camera at the barcode of your bonus card.

As we wrote above, to use Android Pay you need a modern smartphone based on Android (at least version 4.4) with NFC function. (You can check the presence of NFC in your phone using Google or by looking at the characteristics of your phone in the Yandex market).

Please note that Android Pay, for security reasons, is not supported on devices with open root access (rooted phones).

List of popular phone models that support Android Pay:

• Samsung models S8, S8+, S7, S7 Edge, S6, S6 Edge, Note 5, S5 mini, C5, C7, A3 (2016-2017), A5 (2016-2017), A7 (2016-2017), J5
• Huawei models P8, P9, P10, Honor 8, Honor 5C, Honor 6X, Honor Note 8, Mate 8, Mate 9, Ascend P7
• Lenovo models Vibe P1, Vibe X3, Vibe Z2 Pro, K80M, A7010
• Xiaomi models Mi5, Mi5S, Mi5S Plus, Mi6, Mi Mix, Mi Note 2, Mi3, Mi2A

If you haven't found your phone model, indicate it in the comments to this article and we will definitely tell you whether it is possible to use Android Pay on your device.

As of the opening date of the payment system, 15 popular Russian banks joined Android Pay:

1. MTS Bank
2. Dot
3. Rocketbank
4. Ak Bars Bank
5. Svyaz Bank
6. Raiffeisenbank
7. Rosselkhozbank
8. Russian Standard Bank

You can find the complete current list on the official Google website - https://www.android.com/pay/#banks or by contacting your bank branch for an answer.

At the moment, there are 3 largest contactless payment systems in the world, these are Android Pay, described in this article, as well as the Apple Pay payment system and the Samsung Pay system.

All three payment systems are very similar to each other, they use almost the same technologies, use similar security systems and payment methods.

But here it’s worth noting Samsung Pay, which has one key advantage: in addition to payments using NFC, payments using Samsung’s electronic system can also be made on old conventional terminals where contactless payment is not possible. This is achieved through proprietary technology - magnetic stripe emulation (MST).

The advantages of the Android Pay system include the presence of a built-in linking of loyalty cards (bonus cards) to the application. This way, you don’t need to carry numerous bonus cards with you, just launch the application, select the required loyalty card (and often Google itself will show you the required card, according to your coordinates) and show it to the seller to read the barcode. And if the bonus card supports Balance Rewards or Coke MyRewards technology, then bonus points will be added to them automatically upon payment.

Also, unlike Apple Pay, where the contactless payment system requires a fingerprint scanner in the phone (you will need a phone no earlier than the iPhone 5S model), Android Pay also works on phones that are not equipped with a scanner, and security is achieved using a PIN code your device or the set picture password.

You can connect any Sberbank of Russia cards to the Android Pay system, except for Visa Electron and Maestro cards. Detailed information about connection and bank cards can be obtained on the official website of Sberbank.

To connect and configure a Sberbank card to Android Pay, you must also download the official Android Pay application on Google Play, link your card to it and confirm the connection of the contactless payment system via SMS. The service is absolutely free, and when paying, all the benefits and bonuses are retained, as when using a regular card. For example, you can accumulate Thanks from Sberbank by paying for goods and services using Android Pay.

Like any modern system, the Android payment system has its pros and cons. Based on feedback from system users, we have collected the positive and negative aspects of the payment system.

Benefits of Android Pay

• Possibility to pay without a card- is the main and obvious advantage, since you do not need to carry a card with you and take it out when paying, and your phone, as a rule, is always at hand.
• The ability to link all your cards to the system and choose which one to pay with when paying. If you have a lot of cards, this is a huge plus, you get rid of a fat wallet. For example, you may have cards with cashback or bonuses in different categories.
• Now your bonus and loyalty cards are on your phone. Pyaterochka, Okay, Mvideo, Eldorado and other numerous bonus cards that you previously had to carry with you are now in your phone.
• The system works on most modern Android phones with NFC. If previously contactless payment using your phone was the domain of only Apple and Samsung, now you can buy any Android phone with NFC support and download the Android Pay app on Google Play. And even the lack of a fingerprint scanner in the phone is not a problem.
• Speed ​​and ease of payment. All that is needed to pay is to unlock the phone with your fingerprint or PIN code and bring it to the terminal.
• Payment security. Google has taken the security of the payment system seriously, for example, when paying, it is not the card number that is used, but its virtual account, which does not allow identifying the client and copying his card data. For expensive or too frequent purchases, the system requests your card PIN code. In addition, the banks themselves guarantee protection against fraud.
• The system is completely free and retains all the benefits of your card. Connecting your card to Android Pay is free in all banks in Russia, and the bonuses that your card has, such as cashback for purchases, are saved and credited as with regular payments.
• Additional bonuses for purchases. In order to distribute and popularize the system, Google, together with banks and large retail chains, are conducting bonus promotions to attract customers to Android Pay. For example, travel on the subway for 1 ruble or a promotion from Burger King (50% on any burgers).

Disadvantages of Android Pay

• Work only with terminals that accept contactless payment. Despite the fact that most retail outlets support contactless payment, there are still a large number of small shops that use old terminals, where payment is only possible in the old way, using a magnetic stripe. This is where Samsung Pay comes to the rescue with its magnetic card emulation technology.
• There is no possibility to withdraw cash from ATMs. If you do need cash, you will have to use the card itself. At the end of June 2017, Alfa Bank, one of the first banks in the world, launched the ability to withdraw and top up cash at its ATMs using Android Pay, Samsung Pay and Apple Pay. Previously, the function of so-called cardless ATMs was tested by Bank of America, but this project is at the development stage.

The article is being updated, stay tuned. If you have information about ongoing promotions, leave it in the comments or send it to our editor.