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Canajun Finances Home » Near Field Communication and Android Phones for Payment

Near Field Communication and Android Phones for Payment

Interesting, I received an E-mail from my bank (TD) pointing out that they now support using my Android -or- Blackberry phone ( no mention of the iPhone 6, since it only supports NFC for Apple Pay) to make small payments (tap and go), as a Near Field Communication (tap and go) device, if I have a supported credit card with them (which surprisingly, I do).

near field communication
Now Your Phone is Your Wallet?

To quote TD’s e-mail to me:

Any TD EasyWeb customer with a supported Android or BlackBerry smartphone, eligible TD Credit Card and the TD app can enjoy using TD Mobile Payment.  The Android or Blackberry smartphone must be certified and enabled with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology (contactless) and a NFC SIM Card to securely store your payment information, and have a mobile plan with a participating carrier/service provider.

The nice part is that this is integrated into the TD Banking App, so there is a degree of security (I hope) with the app. I am not sure, but I hope I have to log into the App to be able to use the NFC capabilities of the app and phone (together), and not just enable it once, and then be able to willy nilly tap and pay (thus enabling anyone with my phone to do the same).

Is this a secure method of payment? I am not sure of the mechanics in the Android and Blackberry phones, however, the Android phones do have a reputation as being a little less secure than other phones (as all open systems do, when you let everyone see the source code, that includes the bad guys). Google has been working hard to improve Android’s reputation in the security area, but it is going to take a while to do that.

Am I recommending this service and TD? No, I am simply pointing out yet another interesting new way to spend your money. They keep making it easier and easier to spend your money.

Feel Free to Comment

  1. I do hope there is some extra step you have to do each time you want to use your phone to tap and pay or else I can see thefts of phones skyrocketing.

    I’m not personally worried because you can tap my old Nokia as many times as you want against anything you want and the most that will happen is you will hear an audible “clunk.” (as in clunker.)

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