From McCord Web Services – Google Partner and Web Visibility Experts
Watch me pay for food at McDonalds with my smartphone using Verizon’s Softcard app and my Galaxy S5.
Make sure to read the blog posts from earlier this week on how to set up Softcard and how to get it working. I have to say I think Mobile Pay is one of the most revolutionary changes since smartphones and the Internet. I believe it will change how we live our lives for the better. I personally love it, find it super fast, and feel that in the next year all retailers will embrace mobile pay.
Continued from Monday.
Now that you’ve got cash on your phone, how do you spend it? Well first if you are in Waldorf, don’t waste time trying to buy something at CVS. They have their readers turned off. The problem is not your phone, but them.
1. Open your Softcard app. Enter in your unique PIN number, and turn on NFC that’s Near Field Communication. You can access this in settings typically in the button that you use to access your mobile hot spot, but look for NFC.
2. Your card will show on the screen. Hold your phone vertical and touch the bottom third of the phone to the payment screen with the contactless pay icon (you want to touch the screen where your Sim card is installed). The Serve card on the screen will move forward and off the screen looking like a swipe action. The cashier will then let you know if all has gone through and complete your transaction. While doing this, my phone vibrated. There was no “ding” like the videos for contactless pay show online.
3. That’s it super simple, fast, and way cool!
I personally think that mobile pay and contactless pay is the future. I thought I would never use it, but now that I have I am thinking of ways to use it more.
Here’s my short list on how I’m already or going to use Softcard:
1. Take no cash or very little on travel. I’ll use my Softcard.
2. Have reporting about my cash transactions from the Serve card website.
3. Send my kids into the store to buy things without having to go in – just send my phone!
4. Stop carrying my huge wallet with tons of credit cards – I don’t need them anymore, just my phone.
5. Shift to a smaller purse and wallet as now I just need my phone for payment.
I have to say that Softcard and mobile pay are revolutionary. It is a huge step forward. I think that the technology is still maturing, but in the next year I would expect to see all retailers move to swipe machines with contactless payments available.
Here are the stores where I am using mine at right now: McDonald’s, Verizon to pay a bill or buy something, Coke machines (wow – that is way cool), Footlocker. The two Subways I went to did not take Softcard, but they are on the apps map as doing so. CVS is also on the map as taking it, but Softcard did not work at two locations in my area.
Add to my list by clicking comments and leaving your thoughts.
Oh, thanks to our local Verizon store manager who helped me with my Softcard. It is hard to find good troubleshooting information out there when you have a problem. Instead go into your Verizon store and ask a rep who is using it now.
I thought it would be easy to start using the Verizon Softcard as a smartphone wallet, but nooooooooooooo, sometimes easy things are very complicated.
Here’s what I did to finally get Softcard working.
1. If you have a Verizon Galaxy S5, you most likely already have the Verizon NFC SE sim card installed. If you are not sure, don’t waste time, get yourself down to the Verizon store and get them to install one. It is FREE!
2. With the phone app, sign up for the American Express Serve card. If you are not at Chase or Wells Fargo, you’ll want to do this. For me, I did not want to link my own credit card or checking account until I really knew how this thing worked. I did not want to wake up one morning with my business checking or personal checking drained. So I took the conservative approach and got the free American Express Serve card. If you connect your credit card – know that cash moved to your Serve card is like getting a cash advance. Make sure you know your interest rate for a cash advance as it could be really high.
3. Make sure to set up an online account on your desktop for your American Express Serve card; just a way to very quickly manage your account. Use the app on the go and the desktop app for tracking, reports, and quick access to customer service.
4. Know that American Express will send you a plastic Serve card for your real wallet and that the number on it is not the same number as the one in your phone, but they are linked. The phone card has a different number for security. Very Smart! Thanks for looking out for me American Express and Softcard.
5. Add money to your Serve card at 7-11 or CSV store for free – no fees. I put cash on mine and by the time I got back to my car, my phone showed my new balance.
6. Snap a picture of a check made out to you to add money to your Serve card on your phone. It took five days for my deposit to show up. 7-11 is faster! But the pic is fast and easy if you don’t need the cash super fast.
Check back on Wednesday for more on using Softcard tied to an American Express Serve card and then watch my Try It Friday video this week to see it all in action.
Google continues to push and refine its message as to the importance all websites having a mobile friendly website. Just this past week on the mobile version of Google I started to see tags in front of search listings as to if the site was mobile friendly or not.
Truthfully, I believe the next step is for Google to filter out and not supply sites at all in the mobile search results that have not stepped up to create the proper mobile experience. I expect to see this happen within the next six months.
Google is serious about having a great experience for mobile users on their mobile search platform. If they do not, then users will migrate to other providers who show more relevant results. If they move, Google will lose big in the ad arena. So for Google showing the right mobile friendly results in mobile search directly equates with its own bottom-line. Miscalculate on how Google feels about mobile and you’ll be out of their index.
The great things is that Google moves slowly to make big changes like this, letting users know that they feel is important and provides tools to help site owners. Here is just one of the tools that Google has recently released: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/. It is an online tool to test just how friendly your website is.
Take the tool for a test drive to see just how your website stacks up. For now you have time to fix these problems, but you will not be able to wait forever. If you are using a legacy site, one that is not built with a responsive design and are not using a mobile rendering plugin or application to turn your old website into a mobile friendly one, you’ve just got to take action within the next six months to get there. We can help you get there. I invite you to review our responsive design options today to start on evaluating your options.