using your cellphone to pay for things

document updated 10 years ago, on Jul 15, 2013

article updated: July 2013

NFC is a method for paying by cellphone.

Major systems are: Google Wallet and Isis.

Cellphone compatibility

Not only do you need a cellphone that has the necessary hardware support, you also need your cellphone carrier to not block it. Currently, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile prevent Google Wallet from being used on any of their phones. ^*

devices with hardware support for NFC — note: per above, this isn't enough, you also need your carrier to not block your use of the NFC hardware
devices that work with Google Wallet

* though you can bypass carrier restrictions by rooting your Android

Retailer compatibility

You also need your retailer's credit card machines to support NFC, and to support the NFC network you're using.

Google Wallet
- at checkout, look for one of these logos ("MasterCard PayPass", "Google Wallet Accepted Here", or this logo)
- Google no longer maintains a complete list of merchants that support it, but it includes: American Eagle, Bloomingdales, BP, Container Store, CVS, Dairy Queen, Foot Locker, Home Depot, Jamba Juice, Macy's, McDonald's, Office Max, Petco, RadioShack, Sports Authority, Subway, Sunoco, Tim Hortons, Toys "R" Us, and Walgreens.

Other compatibility

countries — Google Wallet is currently only available in the United States.
credit cards — Google Wallet is compatible with Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover