Apple Passbook vs Google Wallet – Mobile Wallet Apps Plugging Your Wallet in to your Smartphone

Credit Card Deals

	Interest Rate p.a.	Balance transfer Rate p.a.
ANZ Low Rate	13.14% p.a.	0% p.a. for 9 months
Virgin Australia Velocity Flyer Card - Balance Transfer Offer	20.99% p.a.	0% p.a. for 8 months
HSBC Credit Card	17.99% p.a.	0% p.a. for 6 months

Google and Apple want to make the leather wallet a thing of the past: Here’s everything you need to know about how to plug-in your wallet to your phone

Reach for your smartphone first

Thanks to Google and Apple, the smart-phone is the first point of call for managing our daily lives. We use them to contact our friends and family, manage our finances and organise our daily routines.

But as revolutionary as smart-phones have been, the leather wallet has been one of the last bastions of ‘yesteryear’ struggling to remain relevant in a digital world… That was until now.

The Google Wallet

Google, in an attempt to give their wallet some ‘credit’, have teamed up with Citibank to bring you the Google Wallet.

The Google Wallet will use your Citibank MasterCard, credit card or Google pre-paid credit card to make payments by tapping your smartphone on Paypass terminals at participating outlets. Complete the step by step set-up on your phone and you’re good to start waving your phone around. For now, Google Wallet only supports Citibank accounts but, they are aiming to eventually support all the payment cards that we keep in our leather wallets today.

Check the video for a demonstration on how the Google Wallet works. Please note the first 30 seconds can be skipped as this video has an unnecessarily long introduction.

Unlike the traditional leather wallet, this is a wallet you can lock. Google Wallet requires you to set up a PIN that must be entered before making any purchases, to prevent unauthorised access or payments. The Google Wallet also encrypts payment information and puts the data on a separate chip called ‘Secure Element’.

The Apple Passbook

Flying the flag for Apple is their brand new Passbook App that’s set to launch later this year on the iOS 6 platform. It organises your travel passes, movie tickets, retail coupons and loyalty cards in one place. You can even check in for a flight and then a hotel, get into a movie or a concert plus, redeem a coupon by simply scanning your iPhone or iPad.

Passbook is even integrated to work with Siri, the sassy, virtual personal assistant who makes organising your social life easier by displaying showtime information or finding and making a reservation at the restaurant of your choice, as soon as you say ‘book me in for lunch’. Passbook can even alert you to last-minute gate changes or flight delays at the airport.

Where to from here?

With more developments and partnerships in the works for Google and Apple, mobile wallet apps are hinting that traditional wallets and cards are soon to be a thing of the past. Eventually, the only plastic you’ll need is your smartphone.

Was this content helpful to you? No Yes

Was this content helpful to you? No Yes

Credit card offers:

HSBC Credit Card	Bankwest Zero Platinum Credit Card	Virgin Flyer Credit Card	ANZ Low Rate
0% p.a. for 6 months on balance transfers & no annual fee	0% p.a. for 9 months on balance transfers & platinum benefits	0% p.a. for 8 months on balances transfers & reward points	0% p.a. for 9 months on balance transfers & low rate

Subscribe to our newsletter and get "The Ultimate Guide to Balance Transfers"

Credit Cards Comparison

Learn about our information service

			Interest rate (p.a.)	Balance transfer rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Cash advance rate (p.a.)
	ANZ Low Rate	A low rate on purchases, balance transfer and a low annual fee.	13.14% p.a.	0% p.a. for 9 months	$58 p.a.	21.49% p.a.
	HSBC Credit Card	No annual fee for the life of the credit card. Plus a low balance transfer offer.	17.99% p.a.	0% p.a. for 6 months	$0 p.a.	21.99% p.a.
	Bankwest Zero Platinum MasterCard	Exclusive Offer to Credit Card Finder. No annual fee credit card with platinum benefits.	17.99% p.a.	0% p.a. for 9 months	$0 p.a.	21.99% p.a.
	Commonwealth Bank Low Rate Credit Card	A low interest rate offer on purchases and balance transfers.	0% p.a. for 5 months (reverts to 12.99% p.a.)	5.99% p.a. for 5 months	$78 p.a. ($48 for qualifying customers)	21.24% p.a.
	ANZ Platinum Credit Card	No annual fee for the first year and a balance transfer offer.	19.39% p.a.	0% p.a. for 9 months	$0 p.a. annual fee for the first year ($87 p.a. thereafter)	20.99% p.a.

* The credit card offers compared on this page are chosen from a range of credit cards CreditCardFinder.com.au has access to track details from and is not representative of all the products available in the market. Products are displayed in no particular order or ranking. The use of terms 'Best' and 'Top' are not product ratings and are subject to our disclaimer. You should consider seeking independent financial advice and consider your own personal financial circumstances when comparing cards.