@emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works
Why NFC on phones?
2026-04-12 05:27 UTC
Replies (18)
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@driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 2026-04-12 05:30
Is faster to tap the phone than to use read a qr.
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@daannii@lemmy.world 2026-04-12 06:08
Let’s you make bootleg Nintendo amiibos. Really easy. Like stupid easy.
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@catdog@lemmy.ml 2026-04-12 06:18
TIL not every country uses NFC for contactless payments. FYI, metadata of any of those payments are routed through Apple or Google systems. Use a physical card (with or without NFC) instead if you don’t want this.
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@ViatorOmnium@piefed.social 2026-04-12 06:41
Do the QR codes work without internet? The NFC payment schemes do.
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@Petter1@discuss.tchncs.de 2026-04-12 07:03
We have a mixed system here, as contactless pay with cards and the local solution using QR Codes came at a similar time, but local banks did block apple pay and other phone solutions (you had to order a credit card from services like boon to use apple pay). Small events or business like shops on farms have just the QRcode, no terminal. Later, banks allowed apple pay directly and the terminals got an update to show QRcodes. And the local solution allows bank to bank payments in seconds without fees. These facts and the case that internet connection is pretty good anywhere here, has let, that most people have the local solution and at least a NFC debit card. And since debit cards now can be added to apple pay, many have this too. Sadly I know no statistics how well the local solution can hold against the nfc payments What I know is, that nearly zero people pay with cash anymore
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@ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2026-04-12 08:01
The difference is, phone companies and card providers between them can more easily lock down and restrict who has access to NFC compatible apps. So they see more use in richer countries
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@dan@upvote.au 2026-04-12 08:12
Australia has been using tap to pay for around 15 years now, whereas QR codes weren’t in widespread use until COVID.
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@Pleaseendmypain@lemmy.org 2026-04-12 05:37
I know Apple Pay does tend to be more secure than just a card. It gives them a token as opposed to just your card number. So that is one argument. It’s actually quite secure.
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@9point6@lemmy.world 2026-04-12 09:51
UK/EU has had contactless payments via our bank cards for about 2 decades now. America caught up eventually some years later When phones got the ability to act as our bank cards, it made sense for them to use the same technology that was already deployed
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@Creat@discuss.tchncs.de 2026-04-12 10:31
Just to clarify since it barely came up: NFC can be used for a lot of things, digital payment just being one use case. You can also have “tags” that trigger some sort of automation when the phone is placed there (like on the phone holder in your car, on your desk, on your night stand). You can use it as a key to open doors or locks (bikes). You can transfer your contact information to someone by touching phones together. And so much more. It’s a universal way to communicate (very) short distances, with the unique property that the reading device can provide power to the item being read if needed. Not a lot of power, but no batteries needed at all for the passive side in many cases.
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@fizzle@quokk.au 2026-04-12 06:33
The short answer is, NFC only provides a brief packet of data - the details you would see on a physical card then the vendor’s machine takes the money from the customers bank account. Payment with a QR code requires your phone to actually interact with your bank and transfer the money from your account. The reason why one is more common than another in different locations is historic. In western countries you’ve been able to pay by card at most retailers for several decades. Originally there was a magnetic strip on the card, then a chip on the card, then the card did NFC. That being the case phones could just emulate cards by doing NFC and you could pay for things with your phone. Vendors didn’t need to do or change anything. In South East Asia (and elsewhere?) that’s not really the case with many smaller street vendors requiring cash payment until recently. Many people might have cards but they were really only used for identifying yourself at the bank or cash machine. Even in larger cities, smaller food vendors often required cash payment - at least up until covid. That being the case there was never an era where people carried and used bank cards, so QR codes are the alternative tech.
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@Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-04-12 11:52
Our gov ID card and medical insurance contains NFC chips which can be used for authenticaing with your legal identity (the old school way is post identidification where the company sends a letter to your adress) Other types of that can be payment. For ID: I like it. For payment: IMO the advantages are phone-less payment. I don’t need to have my phone on me whenI can tap my bank card on the terminal. Another example: Our public transit has a state-wide valid ticket. The usual way you get the ticket issued is as a qr code with the local transit copany where you live. I specifically opted for a physical card. Why? If my phone dies, I don’t have a valid ticket. And if that happens you get get fined for it. I could send in an objection and get it cleared by providing my ticket later at a service point but why bother? :p
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@Tetsuo@jlai.lu 2026-04-12 12:41
Veritasium did a video about credit card payment and NFC payment : www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSJY3DvnybE I think it’s a good opportunity to understand the capabilities and weakness of NFC. I personally think QR codes are not very secure as anybody could replace it by a malicious one.
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@stealth_cookies@lemmy.ca 2026-04-12 14:09
In North America and Europe, tap to pay was implemented prior to smartphones that could scan QR codes being ubiquitous. Most of us have had cards that support NFC payments for longer than we have had a phone that can read QR codes so it made sense for phones to pick up the technology that worked with the terminals businesses already had than try to implement a new system. The QR code thing is primarily a Chinese solution to the payment problem (all other Asian countries I’ve been to have widespread NFC acceptance). Payment cards were never widespread within China the way they are in other places, until AliPay and WeChat Pay became a thing people still primarily used cash for their daily communications. If businesses don’t already have credit card terminals but people have smartphones then the QR code starts to make more sense. One interesting thing about this is that even before North America was widely using NFC payments, people in Hong Kong were using their Octopus transit cards as contactless payment at all kinds of businesses throughout the city. Yet that technology didn’t seems to make it into Mainland China.
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@Brosplosion@lemmy.zip 2026-04-13 15:40
Something else I didn’t see in the comments so far is the NFC allows for unique transaction codes each time and thus doesn’t reveal any information. A static QR code could be “stolen” if it isn’t regenerated each time for security purposes. Not sure how the system currently works but if the QR code is the same code every time that opens you up to someone just taking a picture of it and scanning it again later to charge you. I’d hope it’s unique each time cause otherwise that’s a huge step back
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@jerebear39@slrpnk.net 2026-04-24 06:57
I wish more things would use NFC. My mom has old bluetooth speaker from like 10 years ago or older, even I dunno, but it has NFC tap to connect, and it’s so convient. I dunno why more bluetooth devices don’t have tap to connect. Like others have said, NFC is mostly used in the states for contactless payments and stuff, which is convient but I mostly just tap with my card, not even pulling out my phone since I always have my wallet on me.
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@FriendOfDeSoto@startrek.website 2026-04-12 05:45
It's faster than a transaction via QR code. Also, the chip isn't just restricted to handling payments. It can be used as key fob for your car or on your smart lock at home or at the hotel you're staying at.
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@Eggscellent@sh.itjust.works 2026-04-12 06:13
NFC can be faster and easier. I hold it over the train turnstile as I'm walking though, I don't even have to slow down.