The introduction of online wallets has made making payments online safer and easier. With digital payment services, we no longer have to jumble through our wallets to find the card we need because we never remember the numbers.
About 120 million people use digital wallets today to handle payments, and the number continues to climb each year.
Digital wallets are amazing because they also allow us to send money to friends and family or split checks with others at a restaurant or when we take an Uber. Moreover, all you really need to use virtually any digital wallet is a bank account. With that being said, now might be a good time to compare checking accounts, especially if you don’t have a bank account in the first place.
Bring in the coronavirus, when we have to deal with social distancing, most people avoid handling cash.
If you’re behind on using these convenient and easy options to pay money or just want to find an app that’s right for you, take a look at these top mobile payment services.
Top Mobile Payment Services
1. Square Cash App
Anyone who uses Square Cash can get funds from others in minutes (for a fee). You can send money to people even if you don’t have the apps, but you do need it to receive money. The main benefit of this app is that there are no fees or foreign transaction fees when you fund via a bank account.
This app offers a discount program known as Boost. If you are interested in Bitcoin, the app does support buying and selling it. Square Cash is great for sharing, but the one limitation it does have is that they don’t offer online or in-store support for purchases.
2. Google Pay
When we said goodbye to Google Wallet, we said hello to Google Pay. Google Pay allows you to send and receive money from others and make an online payment to pay for goods. Anyone can use Google Pay when they register for a Gmail account.
You can use Google Pay the best with the app (you do need to use an Android-compatible device though), but you can also use Google Pay online. The good thing is there are no transaction fees.
3. Apple Pay
If you own an iPhone, you can use your device to send and receive cash from others through the app with Apple Cash. You can “top-up” and add credit to your account with a debit or credit card. You can do this once, or keep the card on file for easier access. Debit cards have no fees or if you use your Apple balance, but credit cards have a 3% fee.
Setting up Apple Pay is easy. To start, open your Messages and pick a contact or create one. Then click on the Apple Pay icon to create an amount and send it. These transfers are instant.
You can pay for iOS apps, make purchases online, or make payments in person as well. Many grocery stores and large retailers accept Apple Pay. You just tap and go.
4. Circle Pay
Circle Pay is preferred for those who want to send money to friends who live in different countries and use different currencies. The best pro about using this app is that it supports international payment in British Pounds and in Euros. Overall, this app gives you the ability to send money to over 30 countries at a reasonable price.
Another plus is there are no charges for instant bank transfers, unlike other apps. The fees you do pay are often exchange rates.
5. Zelle
About 10 financial institutes work together and own Zelle, such as JP Morgan Chase and Capital One. If you use any of the main banks in the US, you probably have seen Zelle or used it. This program allows you to transfer money between bank accounts with the same bank (instant) or different banks (takes a few days). Not all banks use Zelle, but there are plenty of banks that do.
The only thing you need to set up a Zelle account is to enter the phone number or e-mail address of the person you want to send the funds to. There are no charges when you receive money.
6. Paypal
Paypal is one of the first online services that offered a digital payment service to send and receive money (even internationally) while keeping your payment details hidden. It is still a popular app today and now has more updates for members who use it. You can also make purchases online.
The addition of PayPal One Touch allows faster payments for people who want to pay online or send money to others by bypassing the login process. There are no fees when you use your bank to send money, but as you may have guessed, there is when you use a credit card.
7. Venmo
Another great app is Venmo, which Paypal owns. You can download this app on any Apple or Android device to send or receive money to anyone in the US. So long as you make payments through a bank account, there are no fees involved.
If you do decide to use a credit card, there is a small fee. If you want an instant transfer, there is also another free. General transfers are free, and take 1-3 days to complete.
8. Xoom
Xoom is yet another app that PayPal owns that helps users send money in more than 60 countries. It’s a popular app people use to send money internationally. When you use Xoom, you can transfer money to another person’s bank account, have cash delivered to them, or send money to an approved location for them to pick up.
Fees vary and are dependent on how you choose to pay, how much you want to send, and the currency you choose to send those funds in.
Take Advantage of the Top Digital Payment Services
These days, you will rarely see friends send money using cash or people whipping out their credit cards to complete a payment or purchase online. Digital payment services make it simple for us to send and receive money with the click of a button.
These apps may be quick and easy, but that doesn’t mean safety is a concern. Mobile apps follow strict rules and they offer encrypted services to ensure your data is safe online. This helps prevent your details from the eyes of hackers.
Whether you decide to use one app to handle all your purchasing needs or juggle between a few, you are sure to find any of these apps helpful.
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