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Garmin Pay availability in Germany

Hi all,

happy to report that Garmin Pay is now officially available in Germany.
Garmin is partnering up with VIMpay, a prepaid based payment app, to enable all customers in Germany to use Garmin Pay.

Press Release (in german):
https://www.garmin.com/de-DE/newsroo...uegbar-2537697

You can check out VIMpay and the Garmin Pay integration at https://www.vimpay.de/garmin-pay

Big disclaimer: I am the CTO of the company that builds VIMpay and was leading the integration project.
My statements are not official Garmin statements but I am happy to do my best efforts to provide you with answers to questions you might have about VIMpay or Garmin Pay.
My forum presence is normally strictly private being a Garmin enthusiast myself, but perhaps I can provide some necessary information.

We have tested Garmin Pay in Germany the last 3 months and it works great, so I hope you will find the experience as smooth and easy as we intended it to be:-)

EDIT: I'll try to collect some additional information here based on the comments in the thread to provide a comprehensive overview as possible
(see also https://www.vimpay.de/faq/)

Most important: Please make sure to add a Garmin Pay card to the VIMpay account- only this card may be tokenized.
This is a design decision we made: Basically the card on your wallet acts as a "sub-account" so you have full control over your spendings done with the watch. Transferring money between the VIMpay account is a matter of seconds.
There is a video we made on how to setup the watch / Garmin Pay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dne1...ature=youtu.be
The standard (free) VIMpay account requires you to add a reference IBAN.
Only from that IBAN you can top up your account- this is to fulfill the KYC requirements for the card.
Per default we ask you to enter your online banking credentials for this reference IBAN as you can then manage your account in VIMpay and also use the instant replenishment feature.These credentials are stored locally only and only used for your local management.
If you wish NOT to enter your online banking credentials you still can add the necessary reference account by following steps
- IOS Only:
  - Tap on the profile button in the tabbar
  - Tap on the orange progress bar to load the next necessary steps in account activation
  - Tab on "Aufladekonto hinzufügen"
  - Enter your IBAN
- IOS & Android
  - Tap on the "+" in the orange segment of your main account
  - Enter a replenishment amount
  - Tap on "Bank nicht gefunden?"
  - Enter your IBAN

0 JensDoe over 7 years ago

Do I really need to enter my online banking username and password in your app?

0 Fjewl over 7 years ago

Do I really need to enter my online banking username and password in your app?

Hi,
only if you want to use the instant replenishment (Sofortaufladung) Feature or use the app to manage your online banking accounts.
BTW: This data is stored locally only on your smart phone to provide the optional banking part.

What we need though (required by the regulative authorities) is for you to enter the bank account details (i.e. IBAN) from which you want to replenish your card- you can then transfer the money from that reference account by a standard wire transfer. If you upgrade to Premium (which is not free then) you can use any account to transfer the money.

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

I just wanted to add the card, but unfortunately it the app says that it couldn't be added. Did everything as described on your site. The app says it's contacting the bank, then an EULA appears and then it says that it couldn't be added, after i accepted the EULA.

I tried twice, but same thing happened twice unfortunately.

0 Fjewl over 7 years ago

I just wanted to add the card, but unfortunately it the app says that it couldn't be added. Did everything as described on your site. The app says it's contacting the bank, then an EULA appears and then it says that it couldn't be added, after i accepted the EULA.

I tried twice, but same thing happened twice unfortunately.

Have you tried to add your "main card" or the Garmin Pay card? Only the Garmin Pay card can be tokenized. (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dne1YbSyryI&feature=youtu.be for a full explanation video). If you have tried adding the Garmin Pay card and it does still not work, please drop me a PM with your Name and I'll try to have a look in our system what is happening.
But your description sounds like you wanted to tokenize the main card which does not work by design.

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

Thanks for the quick answer, I did not see before that you have to add a Garmin card in the Vimpay app and tried with the card number of the normally generated master card. After doing it correctly (thanks for the vid), the card was added to Garmin Pay successfully.

Can't wait to see the look of the cashier at LIDL tomorrow

0 JensDoe over 7 years ago

Hi,
only if you want to use the instant replenishment (Sofortaufladung) Feature or use the app to manage your online banking accounts.
BTW: This data is stored locally only on your smart phone to provide the optional banking part.

What we need though (required by the regulative authorities) is for you to enter the bank account details (i.e. IBAN) from which you want to replenish your card- you can then transfer the money from that reference account by a standard wire transfer. If you upgrade to Premium (which is not free then) you can use any account to transfer the money.

Sorry, but I need to enter my bank's credentials to proceed. And this is, where I'm out. I guess, my bank wouldn't be amused, if I tell them, that I give away my credentials.

Maybe that depends on your bank. I tried a few and all required banking logins.

As soon as this changes, I'm in again. I don't mind the credit card being a prepaid one.

0 Fjewl over 7 years ago

Sorry, but I need to enter my bank's credentials to proceed.

This shouldn't be the case, you don't need to- as I said, only if you want to use the banking integration part.
I'll reach out to my collegues to provide you with a step-by-step instruction

I guess, my bank wouldn't be amused, if I tell them, that I give away my credentials.
Maybe that depends on your bank. I tried a few and all required banking logins.

Just some clarification so there is no confusion / misinformation in this thread.
You are not giving away your banking credentials even if you use the app to manage your bank accounts.
It is purely a local client functionality, the same as using any other banking client such as Starmoney, Outbank etc.

There are some other providers that actually require you to give them your credentials (like Sofortüberweisung or server based banking services) but this is not the case with VIMpay or Garmin Pay here.

As soon as this changes, I'm in again. I don't mind the credit card being a prepaid one.

I will post some information here as a follow up how to setup your account for manual wire transfer and hope you'll give it a try then;-)

0 JensDoe over 7 years ago

This shouldn't be the case, you don't need to- as I said, only if you want to use the banking integration part.
I'll reach out to my collegues to provide you with a step-by-step instruction

Just some clarification so there is no confusion / misinformation in this thread.
You are not giving away your banking credentials even if you use the app to manage your bank accounts.
It is purely a local client functionality, the same as using any other banking client such as Starmoney, Outbank etc.

There are some other providers that actually require you to give them your credentials (like Sofortüberweisung or server based banking services) but this is not the case with VIMpay or Garmin Pay here.

I will post some information here as a follow up how to setup your account for manual wire transfer and hope you'll give it a try then;-)

Thank you for your help. It's really appreciated.

0 Fjewl over 7 years ago

Thank you for your help. It's really appreciated.

Dear JensDoe,
i have added some step-by-step instructions in the top post- please check if that works.
I understand that for Android devices this is not the most intuitive approach - we will add additional explanations in the app so the steps are clear.

0 LakeMaschRunner over 7 years ago

Just payed at the self service terminal of a large fast food chain - worked like a charm.

I too never give away my banking credentials. The way described to just enter the IBAN in the first post under the „iOS only“-heading did not work on my iPhone, but the method posted under „iOS and Android“ did.

Thanks for providing this service.