The spring of 2022 brought to the life of iPhone users not only problems with access to familiar applications that simply disappeared from the App Store, but also deprived them of many regular services for iOS. Apple Pay launched in Russia in the fall of 2016. For almost 6 years, it has become almost impossible to meet iPhone users who do not use their smartphone for payments. Therefore, when cards of domestic banks began to disappear from Apple Pay in April, many had a logical question – how to replace Apple Pay? At the end of May, Tinkoff launched its own payment service Tinkoff Pay. So you can forget about Apple Pay! Or is it still not possible?
Tinkoff Pay on iPhone – how to use
At the current stage of development, Tinkoff is positioning its Tinkoff Pay as a service for online payment for goods and services without entering bank card details. Simply put, when going to the shopping cart in the online store, the user will see Tinkoff button. When you click on it, you will be transferred to the bank application, where by pressing one button it will be enough to confirm the payment.
Everything. No entering card details and wasting time looking for them. Fast, fun, fun. When paying from a computer, you will need to scan the QR code and confirm the payment in the application. At the start, the service supports payments on the websites and applications of more than 30,000 online stores that are partners of Tinkoff Cashier.
Can Apple Pay be replaced?
If, for online payments, the service, in fact, does not care what operating system your device has, then for offline payments, everything is not so rosy. To date Tinkoff Pay does not support contactless payments by smartphone or smart watch. The bank is only planning to launch NFC support as part of its Android application. But, if Apple does not change its policy regarding the access of third-party payment systems to NFC, then work Tinkoff Pay for iPhone cannot fully.
This restriction is absent on smartphones running Android, so Tinkoff Pay will be able to replace Google Pay, which is disabled in Russia. I am glad that this functionality will be available for all cards of Russian banks, including Visa and MasterCard, which, with only a virtual card, have turned into a pumpkin. Therefore, about the unambiguous replacement of a non-working in Russia Apple Pay on the iPhone and Apple Watch today is out of the question.
How to pay with iPhone without Apple Pay
To date, there is only one offline payment method in stores using an iPhone — scanning QR codes. However, this method cannot be called unambiguously offline. Not only should there be a sufficient network level to enter the bank application to go through all the stages of payment, but also the answer about the payment should come to the cashier of the store quite quickly. Recently, in stores, you may encounter a situation where, when trying to pay using a QR code, the buyer waits for the cashier to receive information about his payment. Due to savings on the Internet in some stores, this does not always happen promptly.
Therefore, we advise you to always have a plastic card with you. When paying with QR codes, the world of iPhone owners is not limited to Tinkoff Pay service. Almost all banks operating in our country have the ability to pay by QR code built into the application. You just need to launch the application, open the scanner and the payment will be made. Here is a list of the largest banks that support payment by QR code (please note that the applications of banks that fell under the sanctions are not available in the App Store):
- Sberbank
- Alfa Bank
- VTB
- Tinkoff
- Rosselkhozbank
- Promsvyazbank
In addition to banking applications for payment by QR code you can use the Fast Payment System and their application. In any case, the owners of iOS devices remain hopeful that a law will be passed in Europe in the fall, obliging Apple to open access on iOS to both alternative app stores and payment systems.
