All About NFC Payment Apps For Contactless Transactions

The way people make payments today is rapidly evolving. Traditional payments are being quickly replaced. Contactless solutions are the new future in a post-pandemic world.  The adoption of Near Field Communication Apps or NFC Payment Apps is on the rise. It will continue to exist since it promotes zero touch.

With new regulations and social distancing rules in place, consumer-centric industry verticals such as Retail, F&B, FinTech and more are witnessing a growing use of NFC. They help minimize losses and increase efficiency to flatten the curve. Even famous brands such Walmart and Amazon have turned to NFC to enforce the introduction of hygiene practices, maintain social distancing, and use technology to curb the infection.

Read on as with this article we highlight some of the most widely used NFC apps. In this process, we will help you understand;

• What is NFC Payment and How Does it Work?
• How does contactless payment work?
• NFC Integration
• Most Secure and Reliable NFC Payment Apps in Today’s Market
• Benefits of NFC-enabled payment apps for Your Business
• How much does it cost to develop a FinTech app with NFC features?

• Apple Pay for iPhone, Google Pay for Android and Samsung Pay are some of the most popular touch and pay apps.
• Payment methods like MasterCard PayPass and Visa PayWave allow customers to pay by flashing a card in front of the POS terminal.
• Contactless payments take an average of 12.5 seconds. According to First Data, it is almost three times faster than cash transactions, which takes 33.7 seconds.

It is a technology that enables users to securely transmit and receive information through their phones over a short-range (usually 4 cm). A preferred payment option among the citizens of Asian and European regions is now making strides in the North American region.

When payment and reader devices come together & are activated, the NFC chips help to exchange encrypted data. This helps to complete the payment cycle. It speeds up the checkout process, making NFC payments one of the most secure and convenient payment methods.

Radio waves help establish a contactless connection between two devices similar to RFID labels used in warehouse, store, and other wireless tracking applications. NFC chips need to be placed very close to each other, at an RFID frequency of 13.56MHz.

The system helps maintain interoperability between different wireless communication methods like Bluetooth and other NFC standards. It integrates data from a consumer-facing system with UHF RFID-based inventory-management functionality. Peer-to-peer communication is also possible with two active devices that allow users to send and receive money.

Advantages of integrating NFC in mobile apps

• Offers augmented shopping experience to customers by effectively utilizing NFC technology to a webpage that features product/service information
• Improves customer service by taking away the hassles of paying at stores – a simple NFC tap from a mobile phone helps solve problems with a blink of an eye
• A two-step authentication method helps prevent money from getting fraud in case the smartphone gets stolen
• Lowers the operational cost as alternate payment processing system saves money

Apple Pay has been around since 2014. It allows users to make payments on Apple devices, at shops and even for online purchases. Apple Pay’s security is one of the biggest reasons for its popularity. Instead of saving your actual credit card details on a said system, it creates virtual account numbers. The tokenization by Apple ensures that even if an attacker tries to steal it from the merchant’s payment system, they will not retrieve information. Hence, card information remains secure.

Another strong player in the market is Google Pay. This popular NFC payment option was rolled out in early 2018 and served as a personal banking system for users. End-to-end encryption helps with secure transactions across devices. Millions of physical stores today have embraced the NFC payment technology.

When a user places their phone over the Google Pay-enabled terminal, the app on the phone opens and is ready for a transaction. The application accepts debit and credit cards across major brands like American Express, Discover Cards and more. It has features like find-my-devices which locks, searches & erases devices that are not found with the original user.

Its integration with central banks like CitiBank, Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America are all the more a reason for retailers & hospitality companies to accept Google Pay.

Giving Apple Pay and Google Pay a run for their money is Samsung Pay. It is one of the best NFC payment apps owing to its ease of use and security features. It uses MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) technology to push the card’s magnetic stripe data to the terminal. It is also NFC-enabled, supporting multiple cards. With a swipe gesture, it unlocks a user’s phone screen to initiate a payment. According to a forecast by Berg Insight, globally, NFC-ready POS terminal units’ installed base will increase to 112.3 million by 2022.

PayPal is an NFC app that has been part of the online payment game for over decades now. It lets you securely transfer funds globally or shop using the mobile app. It works seamlessly for both Android and iOS. The notifications help you keep track of your transactions. It is also integrated with Apple Pay and Google Pay, where users can transfer funds up to 10,000 at a time.

Visa payWave is a popularly used & secure contactless payment app. It uses an integrated computer chip to send payment details to a secure point-of-sale reader. Visa contactless transactions are just as safe as transactions with magnetic tapes and are processed by a reliable payment network. Since it has control over the device, it lowers every possible fraud risk.

PayPass is an innovative payment feature that uses near-field communications for safe, smart and swift purchases. It is best suited for cash-heavy environments where speed is essential. This NFC tap and pay option allow users to make payments with merchants who have a PayPass terminal.

Just like all other popular applications – Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Zelle or Apple Pay, Venmo is another app that offers a convenient payment option to users. Using the best of Google Pay and PayPal, it allows users to shop online, send funds or even split payments. Its social media features will enable you to send personalized messages along with charges that go as simple texts or emojis.

With this, we conclude our comprehensive list of reliable & widely used NFC mobile payment apps for 2021. As we evolve in today’s world, customers are more likely to skip cash transactions and pay through mobile devices. And as a business owner, you must accommodate the needs of consumers to stay relevant.

In addition to this, here are few contactless solutions that are already in practice;

1. Zero-touch deliveries
2. Contactless grocery store shopping and BOPIS (Buy Online and Pick It at Store)
3. Telemedicine

NFC is Swift
Nobody likes waiting in long queues anymore. That’s why the NFC technology makes payment processes easier and quicker than ever. All customers need to do is tap their credit card on the payment device.

NFC is Secure
Just like every other technology, NFC raises a concern of security for businesses. Rest assured, since the technology only works when a mobile device or card is placed at the proximity of the device, hacking instances are far less. Additionally, smartphones come with their security layer, stepping up payment protections.

NFC is Safe
It is completely safe since it is a contactless payment option. It doesn’t require customers to hand over a card to complete a transaction physically. A simple tap is enough to complete the payment process. It is an excellent way to limit physical contact to reduce the spread of germs. Interestingly, the pandemic has emphasized mobile payment both from a public health and data security perspective.

Developing an app is not a one-time process as it requires adhering to the changing ecosystem governed by technology, business and more. Here are some of the factors that influence the NFC app development cost;

• Region – targeted
• Managing the change in the regulatory framework
• Possible third-party integrations
• Back-end architecture development
• Environment Setup
• Design – based on the target audience
• QA timeline & Bug Fix
• Project Management
• Project Documentation

The tap and pay apps help organizations introduce innovative payment options to regular customers. Businesses like yours must adapt to the latest trends to ‘speak to the consumer.’ Additionally, adopting this technology on a larger scale will help you in your journey toward establishing a global presence.

At Rishabh Software, we have an experienced mobile app development team with the required competency to help you with NFC payment options. Our comprehensive knowledge of designing, creating and developing customized NFC-based solutions & services can help you render customers’ interactive experiences.

(Content Updated On 19th March, 2021)