As mobile technology continues to advance, it’s reshaping not only the act of spending but the entire consumer experience. Whether you’re shopping in a store or browsing online, your smartphone is playing a bigger role than you think in how you decide what to buy and how to pay for it.
Whatever you think of its wider influence on your spending such as push notifications and personalised advertising, smartphone technology undeniably makes daily shopping simpler, more secure and more rewarding. Discover exactly how these devices are changing the way we manage our money.
Digital Wallets
If you track the way payments have changed through time in the UK, the last few decades have been extraordinary. Debit cards were only introduced in 1987, and by 2007 Barclays had released the first contactless payment card. Less than 20 years on from these major breakthroughs, the launch of digital wallets is threatening to make cards obsolete – although experts say the phase-out will be slow, if it happens at all.
Digital wallets enable you to link your debit or credit cards to your phone which has redefined convenience beyond contactless payments – which is no mean feat! Having everything within your smartphone means there’s no need to carry cards or cash, and the in-built two-factor authorisation means there’s no upper limit holding you back when you tap.
Live Tracking
Do you find it difficult to manage your monthly expenditure? Smartphones are revolutionising this too, giving us effortless control over our finances. Banking apps enable you to check your balance before you decide to buy, minimising the risk of overspending. They also categorise your spending to provide a clearer picture of where your funds go each month, helping you identify opportunities to save.
You can invest in digital credit cards so you can manage every detail of your borrowed money in real-time, with the option to settle outstanding balances instantly in the app. This helps you avoid missing repayment deadlines and debt, and using credit cards responsibly is an excellent way to boost your credit score.
Secure Payments
Smartphones offer an extra layer of security to payments. With biometric authentication such as fingerprint or facial recognition, transactions are protected from fraud and theft. These security features ensure that only you can authorise payments when you’re using your phone to make a purchase.
Smartphone technology also protects your wider online technology through one-time passcodes (OTPs), a type of two-factor authorisation which helps prevent fraud. When you go to make a large or unusual purchase, your bank can assess that you’re the buyer by sending a unique code to your phone which you then enter in the system. This greatly reduces the risk of people being able to use your cards for spending sprees should they be stolen.
Rewards Apps
Most retail companies offer excellent loyalty programmes these days, and smartphones make collecting and accessing rewards easy. Rather than needing to carry dozens of different loyalty cards, you can have them all in your wallet or within apps where you also have visibility of your existing points, discounts and exclusive offers.
Some apps even use push notifications to alert you when you’re near a store where you can earn extra rewards, helping you find the best time to buy. You can save as you spend without needing to go to the effort of researching available offers.
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