What is NFC Payment App, How it Works and What are its Benefits?

NFC Payment Apps or Near Field Communication Apps have become very popular now a days and are widely used today in various industries like retail, banking etc. NFC is a simple method of contactless communication of data between two devices which are placed closely i.e within a distance of less than 20 cm. This technology has already been adopted in so many countries across Asia, Europe and North America. NFC mobile payments are used in UK since 2011 hence even if you have never owned an NFC supported smartphone, still you may have used it. NFC technology provides a secure architecture and compatible framework for application provider companies to use the technology for mobile payment capabilities i.e peer to peer money exchange.

As NFC apps are secure hence they provide unique opportunity for the Mobile  App Creator or app developer to integrate NFC app payment into their mobile apps as it is highly needed so many times.

How Does NFC Payment App Works?
NFC has been build upon RFID systems and allows two way communication between endpoints while the earlier systems like contactless smart cards were only one way. NFC has been used in Android devices since Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich version with a name Android Beam which was first launched in Google Nexus smartphones. While processing NFC mobile payments, Android Beam uses NFC to enable Bluetooth on both devices, pairing them instantly and then disabling Bluetooth automatically on both the devices once the desired transaction is completed. NFC has also been used in Samsung devices with the name S-Beam.

NFC technology lets two local devices to share small bits of data. It has embedded things like smart cards, print advertisements and commuter cards. Today, this technology has been places in Android, iOS and Windows mobile phones therefore NFC has become very important especially when we talk about mobile payments.

Top NFC Payment Apps in the Market Today:-
Right now there are many NFC compatible smartphones in the market like Google’e Nexus series, Samsung’s Galaxy Series and the iPhone. So many companies are now using this technology. Top NFC apps in the market are:-

Android Pay:
For Android powered smartphones, Android Pay is an NFC payment app for Android which can be used to tap and pay in stores. Anyone can use it to make in-app payments. Google Wallet has been replaced by Android Pay and you can use it to send money to anyone.
This NFC app allows you to use credit and debit cards from all the major brands. You can easily use this app to pay for things within apps on your phone and in so many real-life stores and vending machines.

Apple Pay:
Apple Pay is the popular NFC payment app from Apple ecosystem which lets iOS device owners to make purchases with major retailers or via in-app purchases. It works on the same principle of contact-less technology which works for short distances. If your iOS device is switched on in a store and if it can detect the NFC field then it will offer you default card for payment after verification. Users need to authenticate the purchase using Touch ID or passcode. Note that no payment information can shared without this step of authentication.

Samsung Pay:
The competitor to both Android Pay and Apple Pay is Samsung Pay which uses the NFC technology to process payments at tap-to-pay terminals. This service lets you pay for so many goods, services and products quite easily by waving your Samsung device near a cash register instead of swiping a credit card or supplying your payment information. This payment platform works with Samsung galaxy range of devices. Samsung Pay uses biometric authentication to process the contactless payment.

Main Benefits of NFC Apps:-
Convenience and Speed:
The most popular mobile payment apps such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay use NFC technology and there are more such apps. With these apps, the customers can easily link their credit and debit cards. When they have to pay, they just hold up their phone to the NFC terminal and can make an instant payment. This is much faster than payment via a traditional credit card which takes about 15-20 seconds to process.

More Security for Merchants and Consumers:
NFC mobile apps provide increased security for merchants and consumers. Apple devices have finger print scanners and many Android devices also have this capability. There are no chances or stealing or credit card information as this information is stored in their phones only.

Conclusion
The demand for NFC payment apps is growing day by day as more and more number of customers and merchants are realizing its huge benefits. Technological advancements are happening day by day especially in the field of mobile apps and there has been a huge interest in the NFC mobile payment marketplace and development o NFC payments apps for mobile payments. So many app making companies are using their cross platform app development teams to develop and integrate NFC mobile payment solutions for various platforms.