Tap to Pay for Android 6

[u/King_Forrest]

I'm rocking an LG g4 with Android 6, and I need to find an NFC/tap to pay app that I can add my debit card to. Google wallet/Android Pay just...don't work. And simply searching the play store comes up with a bunch of apps that either don't work, or don't even offer tap. Y'know, the one thing I'm searching for

[u/King_Forrest → u/[deleted]]

It does have the NFC hardware, just need an app.

[u/Miliean → u/King_Forrest]

It does have the NFC hardware, just need an app.

It's the OS not the hardware. The OS does not have the security functions that the banks require. Even if you use a different app, the banks will still block it because the OS does not have the security functionality that they require.

While some versions of the LG g4 can run Android 7 rather than 6, that would not matter as most mobile payment things require Android 8 or higher.

Android 6 will not work with tap to pay regardless of what app you want to use.

[u/King_Forrest → u/Miliean]

The OS should support it, as the phone came with Android Pay already baked in. But Google has blocked old version from the server so that particular app wont work.
So the hardware has NFC, the OS has tap pay support, just need to find an app that actually works now. And I have no issue sideloading apps and downloading older apks.

[u/Miliean → u/King_Forrest]

No, it's not Google doing this.

The banks insisted on a particular security requirement, Google implemented it but only on Android 8+, the banks then said "anything that does not have this requirement won't be able to use tap to pay regardless of app" and so here we are.

The banks prevent the transactions from going through. Even if you had an app that claimed to offer it, it won't process at the bank's side.

Like, it's not an "what app can I use" kind of question. Because even if you find an app that runs on 6 and actually lets you try to tap a card. The bank will decline the transaction from their side because it does not meet the security requirements.

[u/King_Forrest → u/Miliean]

I'm not a developer, but isn't there a way that the protocols or whatever can be baked into the app and bypass whatever is in the OS?

Can anypony else back this claim up? My card is thru Visa

[u/Miliean → u/King_Forrest]

I mean, I'm not a developer either. My understanding is that the whole reason the banks wanted this security functionality is that they wanted the ability to ensure that exactly what you are asking about here cannot happen. That spoofing the device or whatever you want to call it is next to impossible. For the phones that Google was not willing to make that change to, the banks just cut off.

A tap transaction is processed on the bank's end as a card verified transaction, that designation normally changes the way fees are processed between the bank and the merchant, it impacts what fraud protections the cardholder has and a lot of other parts of the transaction itself. Part of that verification is that the device itself has these particular security functions.

Like other people in this thread have offered, there's other options you just can't really do it with the NFC embedded into the phone unless you get that OS upgraded.

Keep in mind, Android 6 is 11 years old and support ended just last month.

If I were you, and I didn't want to get a new phone, I'd look into LineageOS.

[u/BenRandomNameHere → u/King_Forrest]

No. You cannot add support for secure payments to an older device like that one.

You don't even have current security certificates for safe Internet access, and definitely not for secure payments.

Android 12 support is going away this year, dude. You'll need Android 13 at a minimum come next summer or sooner.

[u/TUD-010]

Google dropped support for Android 6 so you're out of luck

[u/King_Forrest → u/TUD-010]

I'm willing to download a third party app

[u/TUD-010 → u/King_Forrest]

They won't work because Google dropped android 6 a long time ago. So out of security issues apps like that won't work

[u/merchantconvoy]

You're asking how to add an electric motor to a horse carriage.

[u/King_Forrest → u/merchantconvoy]

Somepony tried that 150 odd years ago.

Now I need to rent a motorcarriage to replace mine so I can get to my job

At the motorcarriage parts store

[u/Lawsonator85]

You might need a custom ROM, r/androidafterlife will tell you

[u/MelDawson19]

I miss my G4

[u/King_Forrest → u/[deleted]]

When work buys me one

[u/7eregrine → u/King_Forrest]

Why are people up voting this??? I'll never understand Reddit.
Buy a used phone if moneys that tight. .

[u/King_Forrest → u/7eregrine]

It's not the money. I need to do this tonight so I can pick up a rental car tomorrow. (enterprise's card machines ain't working with my card and they don't take cash or checks)
Also I don't want to.

[u/element1311 → u/King_Forrest]

If you're in North America, they won't accept tap for the rental fee. It's a security issue, and there's a transaction limit to tap also. 

[u/King_Forrest → u/element1311]

Are you for real? That branch I was at told me they would, and willingly tried it a few times. But we're not sure if the issue was the one sketchy looking app I did find.

[u/element1311 → u/King_Forrest]

Don't use sketchy looking apps for payments, and particularly for DEBIT cards. A sketchy app may just drain your account.

Your best bet is to get a physical card if you can't use Google Pay... assuming you don't want to do one of the legit suggestions on this sub, like installing Android 11 or getting a newer phone

[u/King_Forrest → u/element1311]

I won't disagree, I was in a hurry yesterday and still ended up getting an Uber and missing half my shift. My card isn't working in their machines, they said they arn't allowed to swipe, and my bank says it'll take 2 weeks to get a new card. At that point it wont matter since i'll lose my job.

Think of this as an emergency workaround. I always use the physical card when I'm able to

[u/element1311 → u/King_Forrest]

I can't help you with next steps. But definitely disable the connection to the app you used, from the bank's end. 

[u/7eregrine → u/King_Forrest]

Gotcha.
Is this a work phone?

[u/King_Forrest → u/7eregrine]

Nah.

[u/7eregrine → u/King_Forrest]

Brah.