Shop customers can pay with phone with new system

Tens of thousands of smartphone users can from today pay for goods and services in certain shops and in apps by using their devices, following the launch of Google's Android Pay in Ireland.

Shops where Android Pay will initially be accepted include Boots, Tesco, Eason, Spar, Mace, Londis and McDonalds while apps like Uber, Adverts.ie and Deliveroo will also facilitate payments.

The contactless mobile payments system will initially be offered to holders of Mastercard and Visa cards from AIB and KBC, but other banks are expected to join in the coming months.

Android Pay is the first such major mobile payments system to arrive here, although it is likely that Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and other providers will quickly follow.

"It's going to be one of the first few countries that we are launching in," Pali Bhat, Global Head of Payments Products at Google, told RTÉ News.

"Ireland is one of the most advanced technological markets and Irish users love adopting the latest mobile technologies."

In order to use the service, users must have a smartphone with NFC - a system that allows two electronic devices to communicate with each another when brought within a few centimetres of one another.

The phone must also be running the Google Android operating system Kitkat 4.4 or newer and have the Android Pay app installed.

Users must then follow the straightforward process of adding one or more cards to the app.

Once the cards are loaded, the user can pay for goods and services in a retail outlet by waking their device and tapping it off the contactless payment terminal.

Purchases over a certain amount require the phone to be unlocked. Details of the transaction are then recorded in the app.

The use of mobile payments is expected to grow significantly over the coming years, as people ditch cash and cards in favour of the speed and convenience of mobile and wearable devices.