Is there still nothing anyone uses for NFC payments?

I just moved to a bank that doesn't have it's own NFC payment app / system in their banking app.

Now I'm not looking to get a smart watch just for something like the Garmin payment app. So is there nothing at all where you can simply add your own card for NFC payments? Or any new way to get around Google Wallet's system check?

    RedPanda I'm not sure (because I am not using NFC ) but if you have google services somehow, maybe you can enable nfc on curve. someone said above that if you change region to Iceland, Curve lets you activate nfc. https://appgallery.cloud.huawei.com/appdl/C102372409
    There is also another app called "Lydia" (now Sumeria.eu). It has Nfc Function (at least for Huawei phones) but supports a limited number of countries.

    🇫🇷 Metropolitan France and DROM-COM (numbers starting with +33 +262, +596, +590 and +594)
    🇲🇨 Monaco (+377)
    🇧🇪 Belgium (+32)
    🇩🇪 Germany (+49)
    🇪🇸 Spain (+34)
    🇮🇪 Ireland (+353)
    🇬🇧 England (+44)
    🇵🇹 Portugal (+351)
    🇮🇹 Italy (+39) 🆕
    🇱🇺 Luxembourg (+352)

    https://appgallery.cloud.huawei.com/appdl/C102330391

    You might be able to use that. If there isn't any option to activate payment, maybe it needs google services. someone has said to me that it works as NFC payment app on GMS devices too.

    Those are the two that have mobile payment on their own (at least for Huawei phones)

    You could try them with and without google services (maybe with microg) and keep us posted!

      RedPanda So is there nothing at all where you can simply add your own card for NFC payments?

      It's not really a technical problem, more of a cost/risk/market problem. Google, like Apple, spent big bucks setting up a network and getting merchants to accept it. They want to limit their risk of that system being hijacked, so they feel it best to trust their OS and the systems of their contractual OEM partners.

      Others, such as Samsung and Huawei, have similar networks. Some banks may choose to build their own apps rather than signing up with one or more large networks, but then they assume the risks.

      Just because it's not technically hard doesn't mean it isn't real-world hard.

          de0u i agree, but that also banks pay fees to google to support google pay on their cards, isn't it? would be better if they had their own apps (some banks did, then shut them down because they got google pay support)

          • de0u replied to this.

              mgeo Each bank decides how to balance costs, risks, and benefits, likewise Google. We might prefer if Google trusted their wallet app on GrapheneOS, but it may well never happen. We might prefer if our favorite banks did their own NFC payment support, but that is their choice.

              With hardware attestation, there isn't a way for GrapheneOS to tweak something and override Google's choices or banks' choices (I think this is what the original poster was asking about).

                Tried Curve. They require you to buy their own card and they seem to have removed their own NFC, now also relying on Google Pay, making it unusable on GrapheneOS.

                Lydia / Sumeria was a bit too shady for me. They were seriously asking for my tax ID.

                I guess I will have to drop NFC payments and pay with my card directly or with cash.

                  Something I don't see mentioned much, as a sort of alternative to paying by phone, is contactless payment wearables. I think the support varies depending on what country you're in. I believe there are a few compatible with the curve card and a couple of other cards in UK at least. Pretty sure it's a fairly popular method of payment in parts of Europe. I think it is only supported by MasterCard cards and not VISA.

                  There are bracelets, rings, watchstraps, watches (not smart watches, actual watches) and key fobs as well. I'm sure there are others.

                  It seems very dependable on what country you're in as to whether it is a thing and to what companies do it, so if it sounds interesting its worth a quick search on the web

                  EDIT: There are also phone cases like this one, that let you keep a couple of cards in and just slide the back open slightly to tap to pay: https://www.amazon.com/Spigen-Slim-Armor-Designed-MP671/dp/B0BZ5PBKXP/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3SBWYXWXFPSWK&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nLaU3CkPKer1vzkZxvhtMEq0vjhqw0_0Jq1_wRZe9IncogAhjHuC7pTPd0WEnrpdrzhFeYwpv7wNKyZoNgfZ-hzPKs6xdn2GQkX0nyDmK6ypTUbhGWfOa8wk6pxrfukALs2CJMEY95mZDVwv0bNdMMnvk6X-CQTDEKu6vFGtJWYbY94cuPYE8EoApzeMd6ajw7I9jLN4FaOC5L_A6XLOFw.4qYXoLd6oopY_o2OtY7YFeYfSOsl_C4CY7SA_F8KaIA&dib_tag=se&keywords=Spigen+Slim+Armor+CS+Case+Compatible+with+Google+Pixel+8+Pro&qid=1720008337&sprefix=spigen+slim+armor+cs+case+compatible+with+google+pixel+8+pro%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-1

                    roamer4223 That's true. There are NFC rings and watchstraps, for me it's only curve that is supported

                      RedPanda Yes, I think you have to order their own curve card in order to use NFC or any of their features. But still might not work on GrapheneOS. I'm not sure. There is this comment here and a full thread: https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/443-gpay-alternatives-for-grapheneos
                      This comment here is what I am not sure: https://discuss.grapheneos.org/u/LazyM49

                      They use different phone than Huawei and somehow enabled NFC by changing region in Google playstore(?)

                      I don't think Lydia is shady. It's a digital licensed bank in France. Based on trustpilot, I'd say that they are okay. I sent them email before and they always reply and I also checked them with central bank in my country and they are approved by them as digital bank.

                      Don't revolut ask for Tax ID too? here it does

                        As far as I know KYC is mandatory for financial services in the EU; so asking for a tax ID is mandatory for Lydia/Sumeria, Revolut, as well as any other EU bank or financial app. They should also verify your ID via a videocall, or at least ask for a bank transfer from another of your accounts to confirm your identity (so switching the burden of KYC compliance to the other bank).

                          fph thats true! btw what bank let you do a transfer to confirm? i never seen one. they all want selfies and id copies

                          • fph replied to this.

                              ekasprzak hey, what do you mean "And I just tried that on my aonther Android phone (Xperia with stock Android) - it just worked, no issues."

                              what model it was and what stock android?

                                mgeo what bank let you do a transfer to confirm?

                                Many banks in Italy do, for instance ING.

                                • mgeo replied to this.

                                    fph I see, I think I heard ING before to have an NFC payment app. do they still have it?

                                        mgeo I heard ING before to have an NFC payment app. do they still have it?

                                        Not that I know. Unfortunately all banks in Italy seem to be happy with relying on Google Pay; none that I know have their own NFC payment app. Or, at least, none that you can use at a standard POS terminal; some have their own proprietary ecosystems (which are not very widespread).

                                          9 days later

                                          mgeo No they don't. I literally just switched to ING and this is how I came to this topic. I also emailed their support and got the expected answer of "we don't have any additional payment solutions at the moment, but are always checking about introducing new payment methods". Although I was also told that if they introduce anything like their own NFC payment app, I'd be informed.

                                              4 months later
                                              9 days later

                                              I really understand everyone who has posted here, looking for a method to make NFC payments. I came here hoping to find something that would allow me to do so. But after reading some posts here and in other threads on the subject, I realize that people, in general, don't really know what we want. There is no NFC payment app that doesn't collect your data. And there are quite a few people who use those apps and, at the same time, GrapheneOS. It's something I don't quite understand. I'm on GrapheneOS to safeguard my personal data as much as possible. If I don't mind giving my personal data to an app that collects and shares it so I can make NFC payments, why don't you just reinstall the original operating system on your Pixel? You'll have an absolutely flawless system that allows you to do all of those things that GrapheneOS can't.

                                                Gasuky this is true. Maybe Proton company do an NFC app (see Proton Wallet) at some point but requires a license. But all banking apps don't collect data from users?

                                                  Gasuky a willingness to share the data with a Chinese company that is banned for security issues and risks by western gvmts re network equipment is another thing I don't understand in the thread.