Soft Card Shutting Down March, 31

[B33]

An App I never used and was not thrilled of when it was using an alternate Name is Being Shut Down March, 31

Here is the Rest of why it is going to be no Longer after March, 31 2015

http://www.droid-life.com/2015/03/04/softcard-app-will-shut-down-on-march-31-accounts-closed-with-it...

[Snn5]

I was excited when that was announced a little while back.  Quite ironic huh?  It was blocked and now it owns!

[B33]

Sometimes this stuff just amazes me.. my new heli app its getting funner by the Day.!

[Snn5]

I'm glad Google Pay will be the method and Google Wallet can remain a medium by which to fund and pay.

[B33]

I like to use it or at least part of it..

[Snn5]

How do you use "part of it?"

[B33]

Well I met to say sorry Snn5  I use it when paying for Apps or like making a In-App purchase it mentions payed through Google wallet so I guess it's using a part of that system.. But it still may be a separate entity of Google.. There are some many variants it's something to keep up with all..

[Snn5]

Yeah I have used NFC wallet a few times and keep some funds on the card for emergencies.  I like the idea Samsung has with the phone-swipe method at card-swipers instead of a card which is useful when there is no touchpad.

[rcschnoor]

Personally, I was quite happy with Softcard. The incentives they gave you to use the app were just fantastic. I made several hundred dollars using the app in the past year. With my current phone being an iPhone, I haven't used it in awhile, and I can attest that unless Google Pay becomes as easy to use as Apple Pay, I don't see a lot of people using it as widespread as Apple Pay. That and it is just so hit and miss with the merchants which will accept either one.

[Snn5]

Obviously you are in the know about how these things work.  I believe it will become more stream-lined in the months to come.  Apple is a huge name and Apple Pay will boost Google Pay on name alone as well as customer demand and use.  With the new Samsung phones beginning to show signs of even more mobile pay functionality, I believe the movement will progress going forward.

I tried SoftCard a few times but was never able to really get the app and the AMEX card to get on the same page together.  That was just my experience, and I had tried the service just weeks after deployment of the feature.  I did like the sign on incentive, which for me I think was $50 at the time, and GW was only $30 when it began.  The extra dollar here and there with the AMEX Serve on SC would've been nice, but like I said, I could never get ISIS, VZW, and AMEX on the same page together.  My app wouldn't sync with the account, the SIM card wouldn't recognize the app, VZW would send me to AMEX and vice versa.

[rcschnoor]

Yes, the sign on bonus was nice. The 20% back up to $200 back on $1000 worth of purchases(with Serve) was also nice. Finally, the $1 back on every purchase(with Serve), up to $50/month from May thru December of last year was also nice. When I use my phone to purchase a $1 item at a vending machine and get $1 back it works out quite nice!!!! As it turns out, I loaded my card with $20 and was able to make ~2 purchases every day for 7 months without adding another cent.

That is a savings of $500+ in the year and a half I used Softcard.

[rcschnoor]

Snn5 wrote:

I believe it will become more stream-lined in the months to come.

I certainly hope so. When using Softcard and/or Google Wallet, you first had to unlock your phone, open the app and type in your pin before you could pay. With Apple Pay, you simply have to place your locked phone up to the terminal with your finger on the home button in order to pay. FAR more easy to use, in my opinion.

[Snn5]

That method is definitely easier.  But, knowing how to use the app and having it ready to go when I stepped up to the check-out was a big benefit in saving time.  Still though, it is an extra step or 2 and cashiers knowing what GW and AP are seems to be fleeting at times, and especially when one must walk them through the process.  As someone who has worked a register I always looked for a card, check or cash.  If my register monitor all of a sudden displayed "transaction approved" and I had seen no usual method of payment, I would probably NOT ask the customer about this in fears of offending, but would have had the same reaction that the McDonald's cashier had when I used my GNEX the first time years ago, which was,  "What just happened? That was too fast."