Does Android/Apple Pay update Available Balance Instantly(unlike contactless)?

Bmth100 · 9 July 2017 at 12:44AM

I'm with Natwest. I avoid using debit card NFC payments for the same reason as you. Rest assured I've discovered that, out of the hundreds of Apple Pay payments I have made, every one has updated my available balance instantly.

CSlate_2 · 9 July 2017 at 8:26AM

Thanks for the replies. I thought someone would have a definite answer, like how the banks definitely know it's 4 days for contactless.

I guess I'll give it a go and keep an eye on it!

I knew I'd get a few people saying I should manage my own budget. I've started to a little bit, so I'll work on that, but really my bank is a box with money, and when it's opened and money is taken out, it should be able to tell me how much is in it. It's 2017, and I can count my pennies faster than my bank's computer.

I think I'll change to cash only, since I end up spending less that way, and it's clear that bank cards are rubbish for telling me how much money I have! I guess I'll just count my pennies in my pocket faster than my bank.

CSlate_2 · 9 July 2017 at 8:48AM

Bmth100 wrote: »

I'm with Natwest. I avoid using debit card NFC payments for the same reason as you. Rest assured I've discovered that, out of the hundreds of Apple Pay payments I have made, every one has updated my available balance instantly.

Just read this! So Apple Pay works! Now for me to experiment with android at some point

.

colsten · 9 July 2017 at 9:57AM

CSlate wrote: »

So Apple Pay works!

The bank will immediately know of your Apple Pay transactions if the retailer immediately tells them about them. The retailers do not always do this so, for a variety of reasons, your bank will not always show all your Apple Pay purchases immediately.

It's not hard to understand, is it.

EDIT: to give you an example. I have been buying gift cards at Waitrose every month for the last 20-odd months. I pay for them with Apple Pay, on several different TSB cards which are linked to several different TSB Plus accounts. Most of the purchases were made early in the morning as that is when I normally do my shopping. None of the payments have ever shown in the "Available Balance" of the TSB accounts on the day the transactions were made. They always reduce the available balance up on the next working day.

takman · 9 July 2017 at 12:45PM

The perfect thing for you would be a Monzo Card.

It's a prepaid card that you top up using an app on your phone so you can put your weekly/monthly budget onto it.

Then when you spend anything on the card it will instantly show up on your phone and deduct the amount from the balance. It will also show where you spent the money and put it into categories so you can see where your money is going.

Plus when you go abroad it offers an almost perfect exchange rate on purchases and cash withdrawals.

username · 9 July 2017 at 8:06PM

Hi, I just found out that contactless payments can take up to 4 days to show on you Available Balance!!!

I find purchases made with Apple Pay often don't show up on my bank statement for a few days

Who are your bankers? I often see this claim on various fora - I have never had issues with anything more than 1-2 working days to appear on the statement at most and I am with HSBC.

Not all contactless payments come off the available balance, but what's wrong with having a receipt and simply tallying up at the end of the day what you have spent, and so know to not spend more than X?

CSlate_2 · 12 July 2017 at 9:19AM

I am now tracking how I spend, but you're asking "what's wrong with a money box that doesn't even know how much money you have!"

With cash I can see immediately how much money I have. With my card it's just a guess.

I'm going cash only, it's easier. The old way is the better way, since technology can't keep up for some reason.

Lets say someone gets wasted, buys a round of drinks and forgets about it the next day. Their cash says "you're broke". Their card says "£23 available". I've never done this, but in the past I have forgotten about a payment, for whatever reason, and gone overdrawn.

Imagine if your bank card has always been updated instantly for every transaction for years, then one day they changed it to the way it works today. Everyone would complain!

My banks
Been with Santander, for a few years, changed to Natwest about a week ago.
I have only just started bugeting and logging my money, since I went overdrawn because of Santander's available balance. Yes, it's my fault, but it's also theirs for saying I had so much available when I didn't. Just use cash :rotfl:.

Natwest's app says at the bottom that contactless takes up to 4 days to show on contactless payments.

Santander is now my bills card, and Natwest is my Spending card

.

Android Pay
I made an Android Payment yesterday for a snack and it came out of Natwest's available balance immediately, I'll still monitor it though.

Edit
Are retailers the problem?
When I use my card, the terminal contacts my bank(to check my pin), so they do know it's being used. And they can even decline it and tell you how much it was for and why they declined it(fraud prevention). So they know of it.

sausage_time · 15 July 2017 at 5:19PM

Amex on Android Pay seems to show in "pending transactions" immediately.

simongregson · 15 July 2017 at 9:30PM

CSlate wrote: »

When I use my card, the terminal contacts my bank(to check my pin), so they do know it's being used. And they can even decline it and tell you how much it was for and why they declined it(fraud prevention). So they know of it.

This is not true, for UK cards the terminal checks with the chip on the card that the pin is correct.

In most cases the terminal will also contact your bank when you use chip and pin to get an authorisation for chip and pin transactions, it is quite rare not to do this live these days (although possible). This is why chip and pin transactions will usually show as pending straight away.

To allow quicker card processing times a lot of contactless transactions do not contact your bank, this means the first your bank knows about a transaction is when the retailer submits it (usually at the end of the day on working days).

However there is a move to process contactless transactions online and contact your bank, as most shops now have fast connections to authorise transactions instead of dial up phone connections.

If you want a card that always goes online and updates your balance a pre-paid card will do this.

Does Android/Apple Pay update Available Balance Instantly(unlike contactless)?

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