Consumers are turning to use their smartphones in droves

DIGITAL wallet use in Australia soaring as more consumers whip out their smartphones to tap and pay at the checkout. But is it safe to do so?

DIGITAL wallets use in Australia is soaring as more consumers whip out their smartphones to tap and pay at the checkout.

Smart watches and payment rings are other forms of technology bypassing the use of cards or cash.

However, many Australians still resist jumping on the tech bandwagon.

Samsung Pay, Apple Pay and Google Wallet are some of the most popular payment methods used by shoppers to complete a transaction.

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Roy Morgan figures show that awareness of newer forms of digital payments such as smartphones is now on most people’s radars.

About 93 per cent of people are aware of at least one digital payment option, while 72 per cent of people used one of these options in the past year.

Samsung Pay’s head, Mark Hodgson, said consumers should be aware using a phone to pay gives customers an added level of security.

“Your card number is not stored on your device, it is encrypted and made into a token and that resides on the device,” he said.

“Every time you make a payment that token is presented to the network and effectively the banks and merchant to make the payment.”

Customers must also authenticate before completing a transaction.

Millions of Australians are using their smartphones to pay at the checkout.

This could include using your fingerprint or face ID depending on the device being used or alternatively a typing in a PIN number on the phone to complete a transaction.

Mr Hodgson said consumers “can’t just pick up a device and go and tap”.

Samsung Pay is available for customers at all of the Big Four banks, while rival Apple Pay is only available to ANZ customers.

ANZ’s lead for everyday banking, Narelle Charity, said more than 1 million ANZ customers have a digital wallet but some remained “nervous about tapping.”

“People can also feel silly when using a digital wallet for the first time, they don’t know how it works,” she said.

“The convenience of using a digital wallet over time will far outweigh the concerns people have around the security.”

She also said once a payment is completed a message pops up on your phone to show the payment is completed.

NAB’s executive general manager of banking products and consumer lending, Angus Gilfillan, said millions of NAB customers had used a digital wallet.

“It is safe, secure and easy to use and includes features like block, unblock reorder and card transaction controls,” he said.

He also said transactions made through Samsung Pay gave users the same fraud protection they received when they used a credit or debit card.

@sophieelsworth