Setting Up Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay on Your Phone

Tap-to-pay from your phone is actually more secure than handing over your physical credit card. Here is why: when you add a card to Apple Pay, Google Wallet, or Samsung Wallet, your phone generates a unique device account number (called a token) that stands in for your real card number. When you tap the phone at a checkout, the merchant's system only ever sees the token — never your real card number, expiration date, or CVV. Even if the merchant's systems are hacked later (think Target, Home Depot), your actual card information is not at risk.

On top of the tokenization, every single payment requires your fingerprint, Face ID, or passcode to authorize — so even if someone steals your phone, they cannot use it to pay unless they are you. Payment terminals that accept contactless (look for the little wi-fi-looking wave symbol or the "tap" logo) are now in almost every grocery store, pharmacy, gas station, and coffee shop in the United States.

Setting up contactless payments takes about five minutes. On iPhone, use the built-in Wallet app. On a Pixel or other Android, use Google Wallet (free on Google Play). On Samsung phones, use Samsung Wallet (which also includes Samsung Pay's older magnetic-stripe-emulation feature, useful at older terminals). You can add debit cards, credit cards, transit cards, loyalty cards, concert tickets, and even your driver's license in some states.