Payment apps help people for money transfer from one account to another. These apps may be bank apps, mobile wallets, etc. In this article we have briefly summarized some of the best payment apps which are not only safe but also very quick and efficient in their function.
Payment Apps:
- PayPal: This is one of the oldest money transfer app available to It is one of the most important and popular player in the market. Sending and receiving money with PayPal takes a little longer but it functions almost everywhere. People should be aware that PayPal application is free of cost only if is linked to a bank account number or if they have a PayPal balance. This particular service is quite expensive. It charges a good amount of fee for the transaction and the fees are high for card funded transactions.
- Google Wallet: An individual need to have a google account in order to use this mode of fund transfer. This is one major drawback for some individuals. Gmail users can send funds over their emails. It also functions similar to PayPal,e. you need to have your account linked in order to avail free services. This app has a user friendly interface and money transfer takes place immediately. Another advantage with this app is that it comes with 24/7 fraud monitoring feature.
- Facebook: Facebook came up with a free and simple mobile payment features. Through Facebook Messenger one can send and receive money for free. Unlike other payment apps which use digital wallet Facebook uses a direct account fund transfer method hence it becomes quiet simple in order to carry out the transactions.
- Venmo: This app makes fund transfer a very easy method. People can conveniently receive and send money to their family and friends. It has a next day transfer facility which is obviously a faster transaction compared to other payment apps. Transactions are free on Venmo for the ones using debit card or maybe an account transfer from the bank. However, the same is not free for someone using a credit card. There is a 3% fee involved.
- Square Cash: This app is absolutely free of cost for debit card transaction and as there are no middlemento interfere with the transaction so sending and receiving money is immediate. The only thing we require is our debit card and the recipient’s email address. The unique feature about Square Cash is that, there is no need for the app to be installed on your device as it can be taken care through an email too. One needs to be very cautious about the email address so that no one has any access to it. Otherwise, the debit card details can also be at risk if the email id is hacked.
- Dwolla: This app has a number of outstanding featuresthat makes it different and unique compared to other apps. Here, sending and receiving money is free, there is no limit on the transaction and one also does not need to have a Dwolla account. It has a MassPay facility which allows one to send many payments at once.
- Snapcash via Snapchat: Snapchat also provides its users the facility to send and receive money directly from one’s bank account or debit card.
- Paytm: This is one of the largest mobile wallet appsin India which offers its customers a service to store money as well as make payments. From paying mobile bills to booking tickets for almost everything like travel, entertainment, etc. can be done with Paytm.
- PayUmoney: It is a free payment gateway solutionfor collection of payments via debit/credit cards or net banking. They provide various benefits which include discounts and cash back offers on all the transactions made. Another unique feature about this app is that immediate refunds are provided on cancellation of orders and services.
- MobiKwik: It is a mobile payment network that connects more than 25 million users with the retailers. You can add money using debit card, net banking or credit card. The even have a facility of door step cash collection.
- PhonePe App: It is one of the fastest growing apps. It is one of the revolutionary waysto make payments. It works over the Unified Payments Interface platform and is powered by YES Bank. PhonePe gives its customers a benefit of carrying on their transaction up to Rs. 1Lakh, 24x An individual can transact in any language of his choice. It also offers instant refunds and cashbacks which can be redeemed for bill payments or mobile recharges. One can send money using the mobile number only.
- Tez:Recently Google has come up with another new payment app called TEZ which has Audio QR technology wherein the user can transfer money using sounds to pair two This characteristic of this app is very much similar to cash transaction where we do not require personal or bank details to be shared.
There is also Bank Money Transfer or Payment apps which are mainly for those people who are hesitant to provide their account details to the third party. So, there are banks which provide a money payment application to their customers as part of the entire bouquet of products and online banking service. In one way, this is quite a secured mode of payment as there is no requirement to mention the user id and password which a number of other applications require for verification purpose. Let us see some of the bank’s mobile banking app.
- State Bank Buddy: This app is being owned by the State Bank of India and through this app one can send money through Facebook or other bank accounts. Customers can also makepayments and book hotel tickets and many other things.
- HDFC PayZapp: This app allows for simplified mode of payment with just one click. In this app,one needs to link their debit or credit card for once and then they can use this app for payment. Customers can also compare flight and hotel fares on this app. HDFC Bank also has another app called HDFC Chillr which is an immediate money transfer app. This app allows an individual to transfer money to anyone who is there in your contact list. Thus the major advantage of using this app is that you don’t have to get into the hassle of adding beneficiary.
- ICICI Pockets: This app helps to transfer money to email ids, WhatsApp contacts, and also you can just tap and pay your friends easily.
- Axis Pay: It is a UPI-based The app is fast and it provides a seamless transaction to its customers. Only one needsto add an account before sending money. Axis also introduced another app called “LIME” wherein both account and non-account holders can use this app for making payments or shopping or availing banking facilities. It allows the user to add money through their net banking or debit and credit cards. This app also allows an individual to pool in funds.
Pros and Cons of using Payment Apps:
The most important advantages of using these app-based payments are:
- It is a safe mode of payment as these apps do not send the sender’s details to the recipient rather create a unique bar code for each transaction. In fact Apple Pay doesn’t store any credit card info at all.
- These payment apps are quiet easy to use and they are also hassle free as one do not need to visit bank branches for sending or receiving money. Almost all the apps work in a similar fashion hence every time an individual do not need to learn the new process of transactions.
- There are some apps which can help you make payments through bank accounts and not only cards. Receiving and sending money to family and friends are easy with apps like PayPal.
- Another advantage using these apps is that they work with almost all the cards and merchants.
- There are some apps which haveno fee at all and there are no transaction limits. Apps like Venmo are very user friendly and it has next day transfer facility.
Even though these apps are beneficial, there are number of disadvantages associated with them. Let us discuss some cons associated with these apps:
- There are some apps like Google Wallet that requires Gmail account which many people would not be comfortable with.
- Google wallet also works only on Android phones and tablets. Another disadvantage of using this app is that we can only carry out the transaction with people who are in our email or mobile contacts.
- There are some apps which are quiet expensive like PayPal. They charge quite a lot for the transaction. Apps, such asSquare, charges 2.75% transaction fee for online purchases. If we make international transfers, we need to pay more fees for each transaction.
- There are apps which are limited to particular countries only.
Online wallets and payment apps have been growing at a very fast pace and they are becoming increasingly popular in terms of usage. This is an era of cashless payments therefore we see that mobile wallets are widespread. For few people, these wallets are not just an app but they use it to perform financial transactions such as recharging their mobile phones, making payments or shopping regularly.