Android Pay Now Available to Millions of Visa Cardholders in Ireland

“The pieces of the puzzle are coming together for a seismic shift from plastic to digital” – Philip Konopik

Dublin, December 7th 2016: Today, Visa announced that Visa debit and personal credit cardholders from AIB now have access to the newly launched Android Pay service giving users an easy, secure and private way to pay through their devices. Android Pay can be used with any of the contactless point-of-sale terminals which are already used by Visa cardholders thousands of times every day throughout Ireland.

Visa’s 2016 Digital Payment study shows that there is high consumer demand for mobile payment solutions, with over 80% of people (age 18-24) in Ireland already using their mobile device to monitor their money or make payments. In fact, Visa predicts that payments from mobile devices will comprise 50% of all transactions by 2020. According to the study, people are already integrating mobile payments into their everyday lives, with consumers in Ireland using it to pay bills (48%), buy a take-away meal (40%) or pay for bus or train tickets (43%). The launch of Android Pay means that, wherever people can use their contactless card, they can now use their Visa card in Android Pay.

Philip Konopik, Country Manager, Ireland, Visa, commented: “Consumer demand for mobile contactless payments combined with the fact that an overwhelming percentage of people in Ireland own a smartphone means that the pieces of the puzzle are coming together for a seismic shift from plastic to digital. With today’s launch of Android Pay, it is clear that mobile solutions will fast become a preferred way to use a personal credit or debit card.”

At the moment, 1 in 5 face to face transactions are already contactless today in Ireland.1 Android Pay can be used to touch and pay wherever Visa contactless payment is accepted.
Security and privacy are at the core of Visa’s products. When you add a Visa personal credit or debit card to Android Pay, the actual payment card details are not stored on the device nor on Google’s servers. Instead, Visa generates a unique token which replaces the sensitive data found on a debit or personal credit card.

Because consumers are using their Visa cards within Android Pay, they will be covered by all the same benefits they currently enjoy with their debit and personal credit cards, including fraud protection for unauthorised purchases and widespread international acceptance.

To use Android Pay, you’ll need to download the Android Pay app from the Google Play Store. You can then sign up for Android Pay through the app, add your personal credit and debit cards and you are good to go. To use Android Pay in a shop, simply wake up your phone screen, hold it near the contactless terminal, and your payment will be complete.