Android Pay Now Available
Oct 5, 2015 | 5:08 pm
#17
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Manchester, United Kingdom
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Posts: 8,616
Unlikely. I recommend getting a tourist Oyster card (before you go, but I understand you can get them on arrival). Absent phone/app (and convenient balance tracking), it's still an enormously useful part of navigating London.
Oct 5, 2015 | 6:18 pm
#18
Moderator: Information Desk, Women Travelers, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Programs: AA Gold
Posts: 16,214
Set it up last week and didn't expect to use it much -- if at all. Found myself at the grocery store today only to realize I'd accidentally left my wallet at home. Voila! Android Pay. I'm glad it even occurred to me, because I wasn't excited about going home to retrieve my wallet and return to the store.
Oct 6, 2015 | 1:31 am
#19
Original Poster
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Programs: UA, LY
Posts: 13,179
Any reason Android Pay would be different than Apple Pay (which is supported)?
Oct 6, 2015 | 2:01 am
#20
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Manchester, United Kingdom
Programs: Hilton Gold, Priority Club Platinum (until December), FB Explorer, BA Blue, M&M Pleb
Posts: 8,616
That said..... There's no harm in trying. As far as the payment terminal is concerned, there may not be much of a distinction between a contactless payment card, an iPhone or an Android phone. Just make sure you have a backup payment method.
May 21, 2016 | 11:19 am
#21
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Manchester, United Kingdom
Programs: Hilton Gold, Priority Club Platinum (until December), FB Explorer, BA Blue, M&M Pleb
Posts: 8,616
Bumpety bump! Android Pay is now available in the UK. Points to note:
Setup and use is simple. You take a photo of the card, fill in the CVC and then authenticate with the provider, who sends you an SMS message with an authentication code. In practice, use is simple. Wake the phone and touch the terminal with it (and I really do have to be holding the corporate S5 Neo far closer to the terminal than I do with my iPhone).
- No additional authentication per use (you just have to wake the phone, which should avoid accidental payments).
- Up to 30, no pin required, but unlike Apple Pay you can go beyond 30 (up to 100, albeit with PIN).
- No Amex support (yet, I assume).
- Not all credit cards and banks supported.
- At the moment it works with only my Nationwide debit card.
Setup and use is simple. You take a photo of the card, fill in the CVC and then authenticate with the provider, who sends you an SMS message with an authentication code. In practice, use is simple. Wake the phone and touch the terminal with it (and I really do have to be holding the corporate S5 Neo far closer to the terminal than I do with my iPhone).