Is it safe to use your smartphone for payments?

In 2013 more than 450 million users made payments with their phones worldwide, with a total transaction value of more than $721 billion, but just how safe is it to use the smartphone when making a payment online.

Many smartphone owners are worried that using their mobile device for payments could be dangerous, however the truth is these payments are actually more secure than payments with credit cards.

How to make safe payments with your mobile phone 

One way of making a payment through your smartphone is through different payment apps. In the past there were only a few good solutions, today there are several popular ones such as Google Wallet, Paym or PayPal.

Some payments methods became very popular choices for specific activities. If you are playing games online or betting on casino sites for example, then you probably know ClicktoPay. The so called Click2Pay casinos (i.e. those who accept this payment option), offer their players to easily perform deposit and withdrawal options since this payment provider allows you to process credit card transactions directly through their mobile phone. What’s easier than that?!?

How to make payments with smartphones safer?

Even though payments through mobile devices have come a long way in terms of security, there are still several security suggestions that you should take into consideration in order to make your mobile payments more secure.

Firstly, you should always make sure your device is secured with a password, there is no reason to make it easier for others to exploit your device. You might be surprised to hear that more than 30% of smartphone users don’t use passcodes. Honestly, would you ever leave your car or your house without locking the door? Don’t think of your mobile device as any different. Furthermore, if possible you should install an app that allows you to wipe your device remotely.

Secondly, think about which cards you link to your device, if you link a debit card with your device, then you need to remember that the money on your account will be directly accessible. Whereas, if you link a Credit card, then the money isn’t instantly withdrawn, meaning you still have a chance of getting it back if your account is exploited.

Furthermore, you should regularly keep an eye on your payment statements, if you are worried that your account might have been compromised then react immediately, it is better to have your account closed and then reopen it than it is to lose thousands of dollars because you didn’t take any proactive measures.

Another way of making your mobile payments safer is through the use of authorized apps, just like you wouldn’t complete your online shopping on a website that looked super shady, you shouldn’t make payments through applications that are not from a reliable source.