NFC Payment Apps: What They Are and the Best Options You Can Find

Apps based on near field communication technology are proving to be a big hit in the market. They have become common since the introduction of Near Field Communication (NFC) that turns individual smartphones into the equivalent of a payment card. Since the mobile apps deliver on the promise of the digital wallet they are changing and expanding the way we pay for things in our daily lives. And, while they excel at small transactions, they avoid the need for having cash, and this can apply not just when shopping but also for regular purchases.

Before we delve into that, allow us to give you an overview: NFC apps operate by connecting with the payment terminal equipped with the relevant reader via the mere tapping of the device. The user then authorizes the transaction which is eventually validated by the secure element. Phew!

Now let us also take a closer look at some of the most popular and reliable NFC apps currently available in the market to help you get a better understanding of the current situation and the potential future as well. 1. Apple Pay: One of the biggest names in the world of NFC payments, Apple Pay is an advanced digital payments system offered by the Cupertino-based company. One key distinction with this one though is that it is available only via Apple devices. With that being said, users have the option to further safeguard the authorisation of payments via additional security features such as tokenization, supplementary six-digit code, etc. 2. Samsung Pay: Yet another big name in the world of digital payments and online wallets is Samsung Pay. This particular tool for digital payments works seamlessly with NFC systems but still manages to ensure compatibility with myriad other payment technologies such as magnetic strip terminals, etc. It works as any other NFC payment system — the customer is able to easily make payments by simply waving their Samsung device near the compatible terminal. 3. PayPal: A leading name in the world of online payments, PayPal too has now integrated NFC payments in its wallet. This specific wallet, virtually a household name all over the world, allows customers to store different currencies as well as make payments in a variety of international currencies. However, it must be noted that both the person sending money and the person who is receiving the money must have PayPal accounts. PayPal also offers customers a chargeback option. 4. Google Pay: A Google offering as the name suggests, Google Pay is what succeeded the tech behemoth’s last offering in this market: the tap and pay Google Wallet. This service is available to users across a variety of platforms, i.e. Android, iOS, etc. It operates just as most other apps in this segment — it connects to the reader device via a signal and this is followed by the execution of the NFC payment. Some other compelling benefits of using Google Pay include zero liability coverage since it uses a virtual account number that merely represents the account holders’ actual bank details.

Now that mobile phones have been rendered a critical part of human existence for most of the global population, it only makes sense that the market will develop and offer more and more technologies and solutions that expand the scope of their ability to deliver better and more convenient experiences. Clearly, NFC apps and other solutions based on this novel technology have come to play quite a role in the market and are expected to be an integral part of the ecosystem for the foreseeable future. In view of that realisation, it becomes abundantly clear that new-age businesses will do well to integrate NFC mobile payment and other such tools in their operations as well. So, what are you waiting for?

Olivia Johnson is a technical writer, love to share stuffs related to technology & development.