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A newly spotted Google Wallet app version (26.43.1009867093) includes a working 'Tap to pay' setting in the verification menu, which Android Authority enabled after it previously crashed. The setting appears to let users adjust how often they must re-verify identity for contactless payments, but still requires unlocking the phone.
Code found in Google Wallet version 26.42.1003171897 reveals a new 'Tap to pay' option under the app's Verification settings, according to Android Authority. The feature currently crashes the app when selected, so its exact function and security safeguards remain unclear. It appears designed to extend to regular contactless purchases the kind of verification flexibility Google Wallet already offers for transit payments.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has launched a consultation proposing that Apple widen third-party access to its contactless payment technology and substantially lower the fees it charges firms to use it. The regulator says current restrictions block fintechs and other developers from building competing payment, ticket and travel apps. Apple disputes this, saying its system already enables secure innovation and that lowering restrictions could weaken security.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority says Apple has not matched the terms it offers European developers for accessing the iPhone's NFC chip, leaving UK developers facing high fees, strict terms and technical restrictions. CMA chief Sarah Cardell said these barriers make it too hard for challengers to build competing contactless payment services. The regulator has opened a public consultation on forcing changes, while Apple rejected the proposal but said it would keep engaging with the CMA.
Google Wallet payment failures often stem from disabled NFC settings, incomplete card setup, or phone cases interfering with the NFC antenna. Users can troubleshoot by checking Payment Setup in the app, confirming NFC is enabled in phone settings, and testing whether removing a case resolves tap-to-pay problems. Unlike Apple Wallet, Google Wallet doesn't require opening the app since it defaults to a preset card.
Circular has released two new smart rings, the Ring 3 Pro and Ring 3 Slim, combining health tracking features with NFC-based contactless payment support and haptic feedback. The move puts Circular ahead of rival Oura in offering payment functionality directly on a smart ring.
Circular has launched its Ring 3 series, succeeding last year's Ring 2, in two versions: a titanium Pro model retaining ECG-based AFib detection, and a lighter Slim model using biocompatible epoxy but lacking ECG tracking. Both rings add vibrating alerts for alarms and reminders and an NFC chip enabling contactless payments directly from the ring.
At IFA in Berlin, Paris-based Circular unveiled the Ring 3 Pro and Ring 3 Slim, adding contactless payment support and the return of haptic vibration alerts to its smart ring lineup. The rings retain Circular's FDA-cleared ECG and AFib detection while adding new wellness features like blood pressure trends, glucose trend estimates and expanded sleep metrics.
Suica, Japan's IC transit card developed in the 1990s, stores a card ID and balance directly on its chip rather than relying on a central server. Each tap triggers a local read-write transaction with mutual authentication and a fresh encryption key, completed in under 200 milliseconds, all without a battery, powered instead by the electromagnetic field from the station reader.