Table of contents:
If you want to go shopping at your neighborhood supermarket and want to go as lightly as possible, all you have to do is take your bags or the car, your mobile phone and the house keys. NFC technology has been with us for a few years now to allow us to pay from our mobile phones, among other interesting functions such as identifying yourself at work, quickly connecting devices such as headphones , or connect with another mobile without having cumbersome key exchange processes.You only have to use the back of your mobile as if it were a contactless card. But can you use your mobile to pay at the supermarket and other stores if you are a Bankia user? Even if you don't have a contactless card? Well yes, you can. You only have to follow these steps if you have an Android mobile.
Minimum requirements
Before we begin to explain how it works and how to configure this technology on your mobile to use it as if it were your debit card, you must take into account several minimum requirements. And, for security reasons, your mobile must not be rooted That is, it must contain the original software, without changing the customization layer or having acquired super user permissions to tweak even the smallest detail of its operation. It basically means that if you have a mobile in which you have only installed applications from the Google Play Store, everything will be fine.
It must also be Android 4.4 or higher Which is not difficult because this version of Google's mobile operating system was released more than 5 years. And if you have a mobile phone with NFC technology, another of the clear requirements, it is certain that it already has a more up-to-date and close version of Android.
Of course, it is necessary for Bankia to have your telephone data. If you have contracted any type of card or use the Bankia application on your mobile, it is almost certain that you have registered your phone with your account. You can ask your personal advisor or your nearest Bankia branch to confirm that the entity has your telephone number to be able to associate the payment system with the mobile.
In summary:
- Your mobile must not be root.
- Your phone must be Android 4.4 or higher.
- Your mobile must have NFC technology.
- You must have confirmed your phone number with Bankia.
- You must have a card in this entity, either Visa or MasterCard.
- How to configure my mobile as a credit card
There are two ways to use your mobile like a credit card. One of them is through the Bankia Wallet application. If you are already a user of your bank's application, it may be easier for you. It has the same design as that one and, in addition, you have extra functions such as blocking the use of the card, knowing the balance, etc.
Enter your Bankia application account and display the side menu. Here you will see an option called Bankia Wallet. By clicking on it you will be redirected to the Google Play Store, where you will have to download this second application.
Once you do, you can log in with your same credentials to have access to all your card information in use. On this screen you can see which of these cards are registered and active at this time. And most importantly, you can choose which one you want to use at any time just by sliding over its image at the top. If you want, you can see the account with which they are linked and know the accessible balance. As well as being able to check if there is a payment limit with them.
Well then, now touch activate payment with your mobile phone To do this, just click on this option and activate the toggle. With this we go to an information screen where we are explained that we can pass the mobile through the POS as if it were a contactless card. And that we must include our PIN code in those purchases of more than 20 euros.If we accept the conditions, we go to the next screen, where we sign with a security code that we will receive via SMS and our digital signature to confirm
With this we will have the function activated and our mobile will be operational to pay with it. Although a little later we will explain how to do it step by step.
The other payment method that we mentioned at the beginning of this section is using the Google Pay application. The Google payment service also allows us to register our credit card and pay with our mobile. The process is similar.
The first thing is to download the application. Then we must log in with our Google user account and, on the main screen, in the payments tab, add a new payment method. We can scan the credit or debit card to avoid having to add the data manuallyOnce we enter all the data we can use the mobile as a card. However, we will not have the extra security, review and control options that our own bank's application does offer us.
Paying with mobile
Now that we have our service configured and our mobile is ready, all we have to do is make payments with it. Without having to carry your debit or credit card with you Which means, in most outings from home (if we generally live in an urban area and adapted to paying card) to be able to forget about the wallet.
The first thing will be to make sure we have charge on the mobile, of course. And then activate the NFC technology of the terminal Like the WiFi or Bluetooth connection, it is wireless connectivity and has an activation light on the toolbar notifications.We can display it and click on its icon.
https://youtu.be/R6PP-SvqmcQ
It is interesting that, the first time we do it, we make a long press on this icon. In this way we will enter the NFC settings to activate its main operation. Here we want to select Bankia Wallet (if it is the app that we are going to use by default) as the default tool.
Thus, all you have to do is pass your mobile through the POS payment terminal. You don't even need direct contact Just bring it closer like the contactless card (which has the same NFC technology) until the transaction is carried out. It should come up automatically and instantly. But, if something happens, you can enter Bankia Wallet and repeat the process to see on the screen that the action is carried out.
And ready. If your purchase has a value of less than 20 euros you will not have to do anything else But if it is higher, you will have to physically intervene with the POS to enter your PIN code and validate the transaction. It will be the only “sensitive” moment since there will be physical contact, so if you are worried about COVID-19 you should wash your hands after performing this action, and do not forget to clean your mobile well.
