Paying by phones PenGoogle Wallet has become my daily routine. It's fast, convenient, and most of the time I don't even think about it. In a store, I just hold my smartphone up to the terminal and that's it. But the feeling that everything is automatically safe just because the app works can be treacherous. I recently went through all the security settings of my Wallet and realized how many important options I had left completely unnoticed in the original settings.
If you carry credit cards, loyalty cards, or boarding passes on your phone, there are 4 key adjustments you should check in your Wallet settings.
Remove the Wallet shortcut from the lock screen
I used to have the Wallet shortcut on my lock screen because it was convenient. When I needed to pay, I could quickly access my cards without having to scroll through my phone's menus.
However, since Wallet contains my payment cards and other sensitive digital items, I figured there was no reason to have it immediately accessible even when I wasn't using it. So I switched to Settings→Lock screen and AOD, clicked on the option below Customize lock screen and I replaced Wallet with the original application, i.e. Phone.
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Control card sharing across Google services
The wallet isn't just for credit cards. I also use it to store tickets, loyalty cards, and other items in one place.
Wallet lets you access your cards from Google Maps, Calendar, and Chrome. This setting is on by default, and you can turn it off if you don't want Wallet to share information with other services from the American giant. Here's how:
- Tap your profile picture in Wallet.
- Click on the menu Your data in the Wallet application and then to the option Managing Wallet and Payment Services Data.
- Click on "}Card data management".
- Turn off the switch Use cards across Google.
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You can also adjust this setting for individual cards: Open the card, tap Settings, and turn Use card across Google on or off.
Old cards gone
Over the years, I've accumulated a bunch of cards in Wallet - an old, expired debit card, a card from a previous bank, or temporary virtual cards from online purchases. Keeping old cards in the app is an unnecessary risk. To remove an old card from Wallet:
- Tap the card you want to delete.
- Click on it again. (or click in the top right three dots icon).
- Scroll all the way down and tap “Removing a payment method.
- Go to the page payments.google.com. Check here to see if the card has been left saved for online payments in your web browser Chrome or for subscriptions in the Play Store, and remove it from there.
Force unlock for every payment
If you don't want your phone to charge anything without unlocking it just with the screen on (in the Czech Republic typically up to 500 CZK), you have two options on Samsung:
Enable NFC only via Modes and Routines
- Go to Settings→Modes and Routines→Routines tab.
- Tap the icon +.
- In the If section, select Application launched.
- Select Wallet and then tap "Done.
- In the Then section, select Access available.
- Click on NFC and make sure this option is turned on.
- Click on "}Done" and then the " buttonSave.
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Transition to Samsung Wallet
If you use the service instead of Wallet Samsung Wallet, which by its nature requires authorization with a fingerprint or PIN code each time the card is called up from the bottom edge of the screen.
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If you use Wallet regularly like I do, it's worth opening its settings and checking what you have turned on. You may find that making a few small changes gives you more control without restricting your everyday payments in any way.
