In which bank can you pay with your mobile phone?

Apple Pay, Paylib, Google Pay and Samsung Pay: Here are the four main solutions available in France to pay for purchases without connecting to your smartphone. Where can I take advantage of it? Inventory of banks compatible with mobile payments.

And 2016: Apple, in partnership with Caisse dEpargne and Banque Populaire, launched the Apple Pay mobile payment service. For the first time in France, it is now possible to pay for in-store purchases using your smartphone, provided your iPhone is not too old! The Apple Company does not remain alone for long in this field. At the beginning of 2017, French banks introduced their own Paylib solution, only for Android smartphones. Then two other giants of the digital economy joined the movement: Samsung Pay in April 2018, available on Galaxy mobiles from the Korean brand, and Google Pay in December 2018, which is for Android smartphones equipped with NFC technology.

Where are we today? Well, the promised revolution hasn’t happened yet. Paying with your mobile phone instead of your bank card isn’t part of your habits yet: according to statistics published during the summer of 2020, only 9% of people enjoy mobile payment feedback, far from Spaniards (21%) or Belgians. (19%).

However, everything indicates that mobile payment is finding its audience in France. If usage figures remain modest, they are advancing quickly: 45 million payments were made in 2019 according to the Banque de France, compared to ten million in 2018. Another indication of growing user demand is the number of banks offering one or more mobile payment services. Payment is progressing steadily.

Traditional Banks: The Grand Slam for Apple Pay

On the side of conventional banks, two portfolios stand out. The first is called Paylib It is available from 7 major French banking groups, and some of their subsidiaries: Crdit Agricole, BNP Paribas, La Banque Postale, Socit Gnrale, Arka, BPCE and Crdit Mutuel Alliance Fdrale. Logic: Paylib was created in 2013 at the initiative of Groupement des Cartes Bancaires CB, the local card payment network funded by these same banks.

But here’s another portfolio on its way to a major Grand Slam success: Apple Pay. The latest brands to stand up to the global leader in mobile payments, Crdit Agricole (and its subsidiary LCL) and Crdit Mutuel Alliance Fdrale (and its subsidiary CIC) wound up at the end of January 2020, making iPhone payments within reach of 90% of map holders in France. Samsung Pay It is also gaining ground and being offered in several brands as a Paylib alternative for Galaxy smartphone owners. Google Pay On the other hand it is still completely absent from the major banks.

Online banking: Boursorama and Fortuneo in the fore

Three out of four: Boursorama and Fortuneo are part of the group of brands that offer three of the main wallets currently available in France. They still lack Contactless Paylib (1)Only Hello bank cards are compatible.

Other online banks are leverage. In 2021, BforBank and ING certainly ended up offering Apple Pay, but they still didn’t offer anything to their Android customers. As for Monabanq, it is now the only major brand that does not offer any mobile payment solution.

Mobile banking: Google Pay makes a timid breakthrough

On the other hand, Google Pay, arrogant by traditional banks, is rare in online banks, is more important for mobile banks. But among these nobles too, Apple Pay dominates. Launched in July 2019, Ma French Bank, a subsidiary of La Banque Postale, immediately incorporated iPhone payment into its offering. On the other hand, there’s nothing on Nickel’s side, which still completely condones mobile payments.

Different compatibility according to cards

Having an account in the networks that offer Paylib, Samsung Pay, Google Pay or Apple Pay is not enough to pay with your smartphone. The brand of the card backing his account is also important. Banks that distribute MasterCard and Visa cards have often chosen to open mobile payments to only one card issuer. For example, Banque Populaire, customers with a Mastercard cannot use Apple Pay. A word of advice: check that your card is compatible with your bank before you begin.

According to antiquity from mobileّ

In addition to the card, you must also have a compatible smartphone. To use Apple Pay, it is necessary to have an iPhone with biometric authentication (Touch ID or Face ID), and therefore not earlier than the Model 6 released in 2014. The same is true for Samsung Pay: along with the Galaxy A5 launched in 2017. Users will have to go their own way.

There are more phones eligible to use Google Pay and Paylib: The prerequisite is that you have an Android version greater than 4.4 for Contactless Paylib (October 2013) and greater than 5 for Google App (October 2014). Of course, the smartphone is equipped with NFC technology that allows information to be exchanged with the payment terminal.

To go far: comparing the best online banks

(1) Bursurama offers Paylib to its customers, but only for online payments.