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No matter how great Google Pay is, many of us would still love to use Apple Pay. The contactless payment service is accepted by over 85% of US retailers, and it’s usually the first to support most cards and banks. But can you use Apple Pay on Android? Let’s find out.
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You can’t use Apple Pay on Android. There are, however, other alternatives you can use to replace the popular mobile contactless payments service.
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Can you use Apple Pay on Android?
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Apple Pay is Apple’s mobile and contactless payment solution. As such, it is only available for Apple products. You can’t use Apple Pay on Android.
More specifically, Apple Pay is only available for compatible Apple products. Let’s talk about which devices can use it.
Apple Pay compatible devices:
- iPhones with Face ID or Touch ID (except iPhone 5s).
- iPad, iPad Air, iPad Pro, and iPad Mini devices with Face ID or Touch ID.
- Apple Watch Series 1 or newer.
- Mac computers with Touch ID. Also, Mac models from 2012 or newer, as long as you have an Apple Pay-enabled iPhone or Apple Watch.
What are some alternatives to Apple Pay on Android
Apple Pay is still the top mobile payment solution, but we would argue other great mobile payment solutions don’t fall far behind. Let’s discuss some of the best Apple Pay alternatives for Android users.
Google Pay
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Pros:
- Available to almost all Android phones
- Wide support in the USA
- Works with Wear OS smartwatches
- Nice interface
Cons:
- Still not as supported as Apple Pay
- Available on iOS, but contactless payments don’t work
- Many of the features are divided between Google Wallet and Google Pay
Google Pay is the best alternative for any Android user. This is because it’s available for all Android phones with Google Play Services, NFC, and at least Android 5.0 Lollipop, regardless of brand. Most US merchants also accept it, and you can link plenty of cards to it. You can learn all about it in our dedicated Google Pay guide.
Samsung Wallet
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Pros:
- Great integration with Samsung devices, including watches
- Nice support for IDs, vaccine records, transit passes, and more.
- Very nice and intuitive layout
- Syncs with your Samsung account, not just the device
Cons:
- No longer supports MST, which made it possible to use Samsung Wallet even when a business didn’t support it
- Not available on websites
- Only available for Samsung devices
If you have a Samsung phone, you might be better off just using Samsung Wallet. It supports many cards and is accepted by many merchants, too. It’s arguably a better app, with deeply integrated support for Samsung’s own devices. You get extra shortcuts and more Samsung Watch tools, for example. You can learn all about it in our dedicated Samsung Wallet guide.
Other mobile payment options
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Wallet are the only NFC contactless payment services we can recommend. That said, plenty of other great mobile payment services are out there. These can mainly be used for transfers, online purchases, or paying in-store via a QR code. Take a look at the options below to try some alternatives.
FAQs
Apple Pay is only available on Apple devices. It is not available on other platforms, such as Android or Windows.
Generally speaking, Apple Pay works on most recent Apple devices. This includes iPhones, Macs, or iPads with either Touch ID or Face ID. Additionally, it’s available for Apple Watches. Read the complete compatibility guide in the first section of this article for more details.
The best Apple Pay alternatives for Android users are Google Pay and Samsung Wallet. The latter is obviously only available to Samsung users.
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