Android Pay

Android Pay is finally available in Canada! This is big news. Android users have been looking forward to this for a long time. Google’s mobile wallet application has now launched in Canada with support for major credit cards Visa and Mastercard, with Interac and American Express coming soon. Three of the major Canadian banks (BMO, CIBC, and Scotiabank) are participating in the launch, as well as some of the smaller financial institutions like ATB Financial, PC Financial, Desjardins, and Bank National. It is expected that more banks will start supporting Android Pay as its popularity grows.

So, how does Android Pay work?

  • Functionality: After entering their credit and debit cards in their virtual wallet, customers are ready to spend their money in-store and in-app.
    • In-store: To make a payment, customers tap their phone on a contactless-enabled point-of-sale (POS) terminal. If your POS terminal is not tap enabled, contact your Moneris account representative to have your POS terminal settings changed to accept Visa, MC, Amex, and Interac contactless transactions.
    • In-app: To make in-app payments, customers follow the checkout process in whichever mobile application they are using, then authorize the payment using their fingerprint (or a passcode). If you would like to accept in-app payments in your Android-based mobile applications, refer to the merchant directions
  • Secure technology:
    • Android Pay leverages tokenization to avoid security exposures -- instead of sending the actual card data to the merchant, Android Pay sends a token (a randomly generated number) which only the merchant’s payment processor and the card-issuing bank can utilize to process the payment.
    • For in-store purchases, Android Pay (like all the other major mobile wallets) utilizes Near Field Communication (NFC) to send a token to the store’s contactless-enabled POS terminal.
    • Android Pay does not store the actual card information on the phone. Even if a customer’s phone is stolen, only a “virtual account number” can be seen.

Since Android Pay is new, your customers may have questions on how to pay using their smartphone. So, what do your customers need to use Android Pay?

  • A mobile device running Android 4.4 (Kitkat) or higher
  • Near Field Communication (NFC) must be enabled on the phone
  • Host Card Emulation (HCE) must be enabled on the phone. Most newer phones will have HCE.

For more consumer education resources, you can refer customers to android.com/pay and support.google.com/androidpay

Why should you offer payment by Android Pay?

The adoption of mobile payments continues to surge ahead.  A recent study by Ingenico ePayments and Oxford Ecomomics estimated that mobile payments will grow from around $600 billion to over $1 trillion in the next two years. The same study found that companies that offer mobile payment are growing faster and more profitably than those that don’t.  To ensure that your business is ready for Android Pay, review the articles and checklist on the Moneris Insights page.

How can you accept in-app payments from Android Pay?

If you are a Moneris merchant using our e-commerce payment services, follow these steps:

  1. Set up Android Pay payments in your Moneris profile on the Merchant Resource Centre.
    1. Login to your account on the Merchant Resource Centre (MRC). If required, use the menu bar to switch to Canada – English or Canada – Français.
    2. Under Admin, click Android Pay – In-App.
    3. Click on the Enable Android Pay
    4. When the public key appears, you’re done.

The public key allows Moneris to decrypt Android Pay tokens.  The key also needs to be inserted in your application code.

  1. Integrate Android Pay in your mobile application using the Moneris SDK or API. Begin by reviewing the Android Pay Overview here in the Developer Portal.
  2. If you need help, contact us.

Soon you’ll Be Payment Ready for Android Pay!

Robert Shairulla

Robert is a technical writer in the Product team at Moneris. He writes end-user documentation for a variety of payment solutions, focussing on helping merchants to make the most effective use of our products. He has worked in the technology space for the past 20 years.