Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google Wallet may soon simplify card enrollment and make it contactless.
- We’ve spotted a feature that, when active, will let users add their NFC-enabled cards to Google Wallet with just a tap on their smartphones.
- The feature may not support all cards.
Google is working on a new, more convenient method for adding credit and debit cards to Google Wallet. We recently conducted an APK teardown of the latest Google Play Services beta (version 25.16.33) and discovered that Google plans to introduce NFC-based card enrollment in Wallet alongside the existing card scanning option.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
Currently, Google Wallet lets you add cards by either scanning them with the camera or entering the details manually. But soon, you’ll also be able to simply tap your contactless cards on your phone to add them to your Wallet. The new NFC-based option will appear on the “Add payment method” screen, sitting alongside the traditional methods.
Code
<string name="bc25_nfc_add_a_card">Tap to add a card</string>
<string name="bc25_nfc_tap_card_details">Hold your card close to the back of your device
until it vibrates </string>
<string name="bc25_nfc_use_this_screen_text">Tap card to phone</string>This feature will allow your NFC-enabled phone to read the necessary card information. We think the readable information will likely include the card number and expiry date, and you might have to enter the CVV code manually for security reasons. After the initial NFC scan, users might still need to complete additional verification steps depending on the card issuer.
While this might sound new to some users, similar NFC-based card scanning features are already available in other apps. Like these apps, it’s possible that Google Wallet’s NFC card reading abilities may have a few limitations. Not all cards may be compatible. The feature could be geared mainly toward EMV-compliant cards, a standard created by Europay, Mastercard, and Visa. These EMV cards store data on integrated circuit chips and support both “dipped” (inserted) transactions and contactless NFC payments.
That said, we couldn’t find anything in the code to confirm compatibility details for the feature. It’s also not clear yet when the NFC card enrollment feature will officially roll out in Google Wallet, but its presence in the latest beta hints that a wider launch might not be too far off.
