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Contactless payment with the smartphone in Austria: These options are available

Image: pixabay.com
(Post picture: © 2018 pixabay.com)

While cashless payments with smartphones are becoming more widespread in Germany, not much seems to be happening in Austria. For example, Apple and Google Pay are not supported, no bank offers apps and much more. But there are ways how to do it anyway. I've had it off for a monthprobeers.

It could be so simple: If Apple Pay or Google Pay were available in Austria, you would only have to link your account to a bank account or credit card and you can get started. While Germany with Google Pay shows how it works, we Austrians are lagging behind. There are already banks such as Sparkasse that offer contactless payment with smartphones. However, these apps require an NFC SIM (wtf?) And selected smartphones to work. Apart from the Raiffeisen Bank, almost no other bank supports contactless payment with the smartphone or offers an app. My bank doesn't have an app either. After a long search, I have now found the app that is optimal for me.

That would be the best solution for contactless payment with the smartphone in Austria

Of course, the simplest solution would be for Google Pay to be introduced in Austria as well as Germany, and hopefully later for Apple Pay as well. There you connect your bank account or credit card and the money is debited when you pay. There is also a PayPal integration, at least with Google Pay. How Apple Pay looks in this country is still unclear. Or the banks themselves offer an app. The Raiffeisen Bank has had an app like this for a few weeks – I couldn't tell if it was mature because I didn't have an account thereprobeer

Or you switch to apps - as I did. That was my experience.

Alternative: use apps for contactless payment with your smartphone

Believe me: I have numerous apps fromprobeers, yes, really a lot. One app requires verification with a passport and credit check, the other is not yet offered in Austria and much more. With Boon I have now found what is probably the most uncomplicated app among the heaps of apps. This does not require verification with a passport, no credit check or anything else.

If you download the app, you have to create an account. Then you can choose between two plans: Boon Basic or Boon Plus. With Boon Plus, for example, you can have a maximum credit of over 250 euros in your virtual Boon account instead of 5000 euros. Probably the biggest limitation in Boon Basic is the top-up limit of a maximum of 250 euros pro Month. Although I never reached this limit because I only used it to pay in the supermarket, you quickly reach your limits with more intensive use.

After asking boon, both models cost 1,49 euros/month after a 3-month free trial period. The two models differ between the verification methods - that means if you want to spend and top up more, you have to send an ID card to boon. “Thus, minors could theoretically use the basic offer without Proproblems, only the date of birth is checked during registration, which of course you can enter as you like,” an employee tells me. For example, some customers also want to be able to use the app anonymously, which is why both offers are offered. According to a boon employee, this is legally okay.

… But there are also disadvantages

It all sounds fine and good, but there are also disadvantages. Each time you have to manually top up your boon account via bank transfer. With boon Plus, the account is automatically recharged using the credit card entered when it falls below a defined limit. A top-up with PayPal is currently not supported. At this point in time, we cannot be told whether this support will be available in the future.

Does it really work everywhere?

I visited many shops and supermarkets during my test, where it always - even if only on the second try - proworked flawlessly. At first I often proIt's fun to say "please pay with NFC" or "please pay with your smartphone" at the cash register, which often gets the strangest looks. I have also often been told here that they do not yet support this. That's not true: Every shop that accepts MasterCard contactless (=NFC) also supports paying with your smartphone. In the end, all you have to do is say "please pay by card", the person at the cash desk activates the terminal and you hold your smartphone against it. Works perfectly.

That means: The infrastructure in Austria is there – no matter how small the business is. This means that banking apps or Google Pay or Apple Pay would also work without it Probleme to function on a large scale for us.

Conclusion: Somehow a mess anyway

Even if there are now some apps that can be used without cumbersome verification, contactless payment with the smartphone is still a mess in Austria. Somehow it is still too complicated, nobody really knows about it and the banks have not yet developed any functioning systems. Even though every business is now equipped with an NFC terminal and almost every contactless payment accepts MasterCard.

There is only one dream solution for Austria, just like in Germany: Support Apple or Google Pay, link your account there with PayPal, set up a direct debit from your bank account with PayPal - perfect. So you can get by without verification and you don't have to rely on the banks. Many in Germany refuse to use apps for smartphones from Sparkasse or other banks, for example.

Last but not least, I asked the Sparkasse whether an app for contactless payment with the smartphone was planned for the future. Such an app is currently not offered - at least without NFC-SIM - and has no further information for the future. The Raiffeisen Bank, on the other hand, has confirmed to me that an app for contactless payment has been around for a few weeks and that it is becoming increasingly popular.

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David Wurm

Do that TechnikNews-Ding together with a great team since 2015. Works in the background on the server infrastructure and is also responsible for everything editorial. Is fascinated by current technology and enjoys blogging about everything digital. In his free time he can often be found developing webs, taking photographs or making radio.

David has already written 961 articles and left 382 comments.

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