NFC/RFID Add-On For Android Tablet

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Google hasn't been my friend.

I am looking for a NFC pad to connect to some Android tablets so I can take payments.

I am trying to utilise 'tap to pay' rather than using a bluetooth wireless device.

I see them for WIndows, but not for Android! Any one seen something like this?

I do not want to buy new tablets with NFC.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Searching in a different direction, it appears that if NFC isn't built in, you cannot add it!

This doesn't make sense, if the peripheral does have it!!!!

 

[Newchodge]

Newcastle Football Club?

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Near-Field Communication!

Probably more effective and useful than that club!

 

[SpriteScenes]

While trying my best to know the questions to the answers, and with an understanding of the caveats associated with web AIs, I asked the Google AI the following questions:

"Does my phone need to have special hardware to run NFC?"

"Do the latest Samsung phones and tablets have built-in NFC?"

You should see the answers I received if you copy/paste those questions into your Google search box.

I also read a short article that suggested NFC was more secure than Bluetooth because of the shorter distance between the devices. The article also asserted that NFC was more efficient (faster) than Bluetooth because NFC does not need to pair the devices to establish a protocol.

I can accept the efficiency claim, but I can't see how NFC would be more secure than Bluetooth if a Bluetooth connection used strong encryption.

They also ask us to consider the cases where users forget to take their credit/debit cards when going shopping! I ask you; how many people don't take their payment cards when going out shopping?! And surely nobody would deliberately leave their payment cards at home to rely on their mobile devices. Surely they would know that most sellers are not using NFC!

To me, this sounds like yet another amazing tech miracle that some big companies are pushing to establish another revenue stream.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Surely they would know that most sellers are not using NFC

Most sellers (in the flesh) do use NFC.

 

[DontAsk]

Surely they would know that most sellers are not using NFC.

Did Google's AI tell you that?

 

[SpriteScenes]

Most sellers (in the flesh) do use NFC.

My mistake. My point is that if you want to use NFC with Android, it looks like you'll need to upgrade your devices because NFC is dependent on hardware.

 

[SpriteScenes]

Did Google's AI tell you that?

No. I use Google's AI as I do Wikipedia - for guidance. These resources can be very useful if we use them thoughtfully.

For example, after receiving answers to the two questions above, I might ask another question like:

"Can I upgrade my old Android device and install an NFC chip?".

The AI answer to this question is no. However, after checking a couple of source sites, it sounds like it may be possible, but would be messy and insecure, but even then, not applicable to Android devices.

If this were my problem, I might ask further questions and continue searching for a while, but it's not looking good is it?

 

[DontAsk]

My mistake. My point is that if you want to use NFC with Android, it looks like you'll need to upgrade your devices because NFC is dependent on hardware.

NFC in phones has been around for 15 years, so I would assume anyone needing to upgrade is in the minority.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

You can still buy a lot of non NFC phones.

NFC tablets (which is what I am after) are not cheap, although I might opt for used Samsung's....

 

[SpriteScenes]

NFC in phones has been around for 15 years, so I would assume anyone needing to upgrade is in the minority.

That's for making payments. We're talking about taking payments.

 

[Daybooks]

Newcastle Football Club?

We were taught at primary school to never use abbreviations until they were defined. Laziness is always spotted and in my view the ridicule is justified.
Newcastle United Football Club, thus NUFC.

 

[Newchodge]

We were taught at primary school to never use abbreviations until they were defined. Laziness is always spotted and in my view the ridicule is justified.
Newcastle United Football Club, thus NUFC.

 

[glengraving]

That's for making payments. We're talking about taking payments.

My (android) phone is now able to take NFC payments using the Sumup app. I don't know if you need to have a certain spec of NFC hardware to do this though.

 

[DontAsk]

That's for making payments. We're talking about taking payments.

It's also for reading chips embedded in cards, passports and the like.

Read the card details, process the payment. It's just software.

 

[Nico Albrecht]

This doesn't make sense, if the peripheral does have it!!!!

It makes perfect sense once you read the NFC requirements and frameworks for Android. Allowing a setup like yours would be a major security risk. Best move is to get a new tablet and move on.