How to know if my cell phone has NFC? Learn how to identify on Android and iPhone.
Contactless payment is no longer just a trend, but a requirement of modern consumers. Has this type of payment already been implemented in your business? If the answer is no, you better start considering the idea.
Cell phones with NFC allow you to access entrances and turnstiles, among other applications
NFC (Near Field Communication) technology is found in mid-range or premium smartphones, and allows you to make contactless payments, among other applications. Android users can check NFC support in system settings. In the Apple ecosystem, owners of iPhone 6 or later models have access to the technology.
How does contactless payment work?
Although simple, the world of contactless payments has different technologies that make it possible. At once, we can mention NFC, RFID and MST. But what is the difference and relationship between them? Well, calm down and we’ll explain.
Today, it can be said that the technology behind contactless payment is a combination of two methods: NFC and RFID.
NFC stands for Near Field Communication and RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification Technology. Explaining the relationship between the two may be a bit too technical, but it’s worth summarizing it this way:
The two technologies belong to the same family. NFC is considered a subset of RFID. But let’s get to how it works:
Basically, an NFC-enabled credit card emits payment data through RFID frequencies when it is close to a machine or sales terminal. RFID works with a chip located inside the card, which emits radio waves with financial information. The machines and other terminals are like “readers”, which decode the message sent by the card or other devices.
MST, on the other hand, has different operating dynamics, but similar concepts to NFC. They are most commonly applied to Samsung mobile devices enabled for contactless payments. MST stands for Magnetic Secure Transmission.
Each transaction generates magnetic signals that establish a connection between the mobile device and the machine. It is an action similar to “swiping” a card within the sales terminal itself. One of the good news is that, normally, NFC-enabled machines and sales terminals accept payments via RFID and MST (which is still a technology most present in Samsung devices).
Another lesser-known type of contactless payment is Sound wave-based (or Sound-signal based), in which the mobile device emits a sound wave that contains encrypted payment data.
Cell phones can perform different functions through NFC. Available features vary depending on the operating system version and device model. For example: Old iPhones, like the iPhone 8, are not able to read NFC tags in the background.
In case of contactless payment types, we have:
With card: bringing your credit or debit card close to the machine with contactless technology (NFT);
With a cell phone or wearables: bringing your smartphone or smartwatch closer to the machine, making the payment with your digital wallet;
With bracelet: when approaching a specific bracelet for contactless payment to the machine.
There are also other ways to make contactless payments, such as keychains and even stickers! The method, in the United States and other countries, is also known as “tap-to-pay”, in reference to the practicality of this method. Certainly, it is an innovative technology that is only now beginning to be explored and widely disseminated. In the field of contactless payment, there are countless opportunities that increasingly help entrepreneurs improve the customer experience.
Payment by cell phone
In the case of contactless payment by cell phone, there is unilateral communication between devices. When bringing the smartphone or smart device closer to the card reader or a payment terminal, the machine itself “reads” the information from the NFC enabled credit card.
Thus, the operation (subtracting the balance or crediting the balance) happens automatically. Typically, there is an additional security step required by the device manufacturer itself.
In the case of newer iPhones, for example, the user must perform facial or fingerprint recognition before starting the transaction. It is worth remembering that not all cell phones have the function, it will depend on the manufacturer. Furthermore, not all financial institutions have this integration with digital wallets so be very careful!
How to know if my Android phone has NFC?
You can check if an Android phone has NFC by accessing the operating system settings. To do this, follow the steps below:
Open the “Config” app. cell phone, represented by the gear icon;
Type “NFC” in the settings menu search bar. Android settings allow you to check NFC support.
Another way to check if the device supports NFC is to access the brand’s official website. Search for the name of the cell phone model to find the product page and, finally, go to the “Spec”, “Specifications” or “Technical data” menu, and search for the term “NFC”.
You can also consult the manual to check if the smartphone supports NFC.
The document also provides other information about connectivity, such as the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth version.
How to know if my iPhone has NFC?
To check whether your iPhone supports NFC, simply check the device model specifications on the Apple website. The iPhone 6 and later versions support NFC and accept payments via Apple Pay, although not all of these models work as NFC tag readers. So, Which iPhones have NFC?
All iPhones currently sold on Apple’s official website and stores have NFC. Older models, which have been discontinued, can also rely on the technology. See the full list of iPhones with NFC below:
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 Plus
iPhone SE
iPhone 6s
iPhone 6s Plus
iPhone 7
iPhone 7 Plus
iPhone 8
iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone X
iPhone XR
iPhone Xs
iPhone Xs Max
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone 12 Mini
iPhone 12
iPhone 12 Pro
iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPhone 13 Mini
iPhone 13
iPhone 13 Pro
iPhone 13 Pro Max
iPhone 14
iPhone 14 Plus
iPhone 14 Pro
iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 15
iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Can I install NFC on a smartphone that doesn’t have it?
It is not possible to fully install NFC on your cell phone, so that the device acts as a reader, but you can attach tags for contactless payments or access to turnstiles, for example.
NFC is a wireless communication technology that requires specific hardware to fully function, including an antenna and an NFC chip, which would need to be factory installed on the cell phone.
There are alternatives to using specific resources associated with NFC, such as memory cards with NFC, but these are not considered good solutions for those who want to fully take advantage of this type of connection on their smartphone.
SD cards with NFC appeared in 2015, as a bet by Toshiba, and worked as a type of NFC tag, only allowing the transmission of stored data so that an enabled device could read it. However, they did not allow financial transactions, for example.
Some banks, provide an NFC sticker that can be stuck to the back of the smartphone to make payments. In practice, this device works as a mirror of the contactless card attached to the cell phone, and has the advantage of not needing a battery.