The Technology Behind The “Tap And Pay” Feature On Your Phone By The Best App Development Company In Australia

By on October 12th, 2020

5 min Read

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Tap-and-pay systems allow you to make purchases without interacting with your keypad or giving your credit/debit card to a retailer. They make it possible for you to make contactless payments through the mobile wallet on your phone or smart watch or using credit and debit cards that come equipped with the tap-and-pay technology. All it takes to complete a transaction using this technology is a wave or simple tap.

This form of payment is now available in retail shops, restaurants, gas stations, vending machines, online stores and many other places. 

What makes it an attraction to many shoppers is the faster checkout experiences and utmost convenience. In most cases, you do not require a signature or pin yet safety is guaranteed.

For retailers, the list of benefits is long. The good news is you can still utilise the tap-and-pay feature in your mobile app (other than having an NFC terminal). Consult an experienced mobile app development company in Sydney to learn more. 

To help you have a better understanding of contactless payments, we will examine how they work, safety concerns and why you should embrace it. 

How Tap-And-Pay Systems Work

Another name for ‘tap to pay’ is contactless payments. Near field communications(NFC) is the parent technology for this feature. It is a contactless communication system that allows sharing of data between devices such as smartphones, laptops and tablets. 

Looking at the nature of this system, it is easy to assume that it makes use of Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Technology. Both technologies support wireless data transfer and communication but they do it over radio transmissions while NFC utilises electromagnetic fields. Another difference is that NFC is restricted to a close proximity radius (about 20 centimeters) which makes it safer when it comes to payments. 

Mobile payments take the lead in the adoption of NFC technology. Here’s how it works for mobile apps and contactless payment cards:

Mobile Wallet Or App 

Mobile wallets such as Google Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay carry your card information. Holding your smartphone or smart watch over an NFC-enabled payment terminal or tapping it on the terminal completes a transaction. 

As a business owner, it is important that you accept multiple payment methods, from digital wallets to cryptocurrencies. Work with an app development company in Sydney to figure out how you can utilise NFC technology effectively in your mobile app. 

Contactless Payment Cards 

As mentioned earlier, these are debit and credit cards that come loaded with NFC technology. For it to work, the payment terminal at checkout must also be equipped with NFC technology. 

When you make a transaction, a one-time security code is exchanged between your card and the payment terminal.

You can tell if your card supports tap-and-pay by looking for the contactless symbol. It almost resembles the Wi-Fi symbol only that it is in a horizontal position. Payment terminals with contactless feature also have the same symbol. 

To complete a transaction, you will have to either tap your card on the payment terminal or hold it within the radius limits for a few seconds. 

Safety Concerns

We all want to be sure that our data and money is safe before embracing this technology. Your concerns are valid and this is pretty much the case for merchants, banks and card issuers too. Tap-and-go has several features that solidify its safety.  

Since both devices have to be close for a transaction to be completed, that makes it difficult for signals to be intercepted. 

In addition to that, only an authorised device such as the NFC terminal can decrypt the data from your mobile wallet or card which as we mentioned earlier is different for every transaction.  

Other security measures the NFC technology utilises include host card emulation (HCE) and EMVCo (a governing organisation that oversees standards related to the EMV chip card -Europay, Mastercard and Visa). 

Also, the NFC chips in your devices are only active when you want them to. A locked phone or one that is not in use will have the NFC feature completely inactive. 

Where your device or card gets stolen or lost, there are several security measures you can take to mitigate theft of funds or data. For devices, always make sure your phone has an access passcode. 

You can also erase financial information from your phone using Android Device Manager (For Android) or Find My Phone (for Apple). Another option is to cancel the card or accounts associated with it. 

Should Your Business Embrace Tap-And-Go?

If your customers seem okay with the available payment methods, you might not see the need to adopt the NFC technology. But let’s not forget that consumer behaviour has been rapidly changing in recent years.  You have to be aware of the possible ways your customers are going to want to use in purchasing your goods or services. 

If the majority are from the younger generation, you will have to fully embrace this payment technology as fast as you can to retain them.  Sooner or later, your customers will all want to want variety when it comes to payment methods, including contactless payments. 

NFC technology also has other benefits and applications beyond mobile payments. Hire a mobile app developer in Australia to learn more about this. 

Final Thoughts

The future is fully reliant on new and better technology. Looking at tap-and-go, it is obvious that it will shape the future when it comes to mobile payments. The need for faster checkout experiences is among the things that will spearhead the growth of this technology. This is part of the reason you should make use of the best mobile app development services in Sydney. At Mad About Apps, we keep up with all the latest technology to ensure your app is equipped with features that will improve user experience. If you have questions about how to utilize the tap-and-pay feature in your app, speak to us.

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